Havana, July 20 (RHC) -- Direct sales of produce to the international tourist sector has significantly grown just eight months after the initiative was implemented in an effort to increase hard currency revenues and replace imports.

Agriculture Ministry marketing manager Jose Pente told Granma newspaper that the sales of local agricultural products have translated into over 30 million Cuban convertible pesos (over 30 million US Dollars).

Some 146 tons of produce are annually destined to the internal hard currency market, out of which a considerable amount is directly marketed in the tourist sector.

Cuban agriculture currently provides tourist centers with 108 different agricultural products, with pineapples having increasing demand, said the official who noted that other products include rice and charcoal.

However, official statistics issued by the 5th meeting of the National Small Famers Association revealed that only 45 out of 181 farms have a regular impact on this market, which evidences that these entities are not honoring their contracts, thus leaving a gap for their production potential.

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