14ymedio, Havana, 8 October 2022 — Cubans living in the United States will be able to send more easily non-commercial packages, such as medical supplies, to their relatives on the Island after the state company Aerovaradero S.A. and the American company Maravana Cargo signed an agreement this Friday to shorten the times in cargo transport.
The agreement was signed on the last day of the International Transport Fair, held this week in Havana, the official agency Prensa Latina reported. About 23 small and medium-sizes businesses, as well as self-employed workers and state institutions, will benefit from this alliance.
Alejandro Martínez, president of Maravana Cargo, a company created two years ago in Hialeah (Miami), assured that now maritime deliveries and flights will arrive “with the greatest security” to their recipients, who import, above all, medicines and products that they cannot find in the Cuban market.
Aerovadero assumes the “commitment and responsibility to make deliveries in the shortest possible time,” said the general director of the state company, Mayelin Gotera, for whom a “way to gain credibility” is for the recipient to receive his package without damage or adulteration.
The agreement includes the transport of goods by sea, but Gotera clarified that Aerovadero will continue to focus on the air sector, because it’s a “well-regulated” alternative for large-volume loads.
The official also announced that they work in other alliances, without specifying which ones, to expand parcel services and reduce correspondence rates “with the aim of benefiting customers in the face of the limitations and low availability of goods products in the domestic market,” said Prensa Latina.
In August 2022, a package of easing measures for the import of non-commercial goods by natural persons from the United States came into force. One of these provisions allowed doubling the weight of packages that Cubans can bring up to 20 kilograms at a cost of 200 dollars. For the same amount before, it was only possible to transport 10 kilograms.
The weight of the package for which no tariff is paid was also increased from 1.5 to 3 kilograms, in addition to reducing the customs levy charged depending on the volume of the merchandise.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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