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WJXT News4Jax.com.
A Jacksonville company has signed a contract to deliver the nation's first
shipment of food from the U.S. to Cuba in four decades.
Crowley Liner Services has signed the deal to help Cuba recover from
Hurricane Michelle, which hit the island nation earlier this month. The Cuban
agency Alimport is buying frozen chicken and dry foods from U.S. companies to
provide relief.
Before Michelle, Cuba had refused to buy American food, despite a new U.S.
law that would allow such sales. But Crowley Maritime Corporation, which is the
liner service parent comapny, is hoping the new deal will be the start of a
longterm relationship between it and Cuba.
Vice-president Susan Rodgers said 20 to 40 refrigerated containers of
poultry would be delivered to Cuba before Dec. 15. The shipment will depart from
Gulfport, Mississippi. An undetermined amount of soybeans also will be
delivered. | 
