A price war broke out this week in Miami among agencies that furnish travel and freight-forwarding services to Cuba. The hostilities began after Havana dropped its rates and softened its regulations.
On one side are the agencies that charge a flat $10 per pound for delivering medicine and food. On the other, the Miami agency El Español, which charges only $6.50.
As a result, Havana has stated publicly that El Español is not authorized to distribute parcels or make travel arrangements. It has warned that any companies doing business in Cuba on behalf of El Español will lose their licenses.
``With this rate, we save the customer money,'' said Silvia Barbera, El Español's director. ``Of course, we distribute the parcels through Cuba Packs.''
However, Cuba Packs International (CPI), the government company that distributes parcels on the island, recently warned travel agencies not to accept any package or travel arrangement handled by El Español.
Fernando Garcia Smith, CPI's general manager, said companies handling any services originating from El Español would lose their licenses.
``We're not authorized to [render services] directly,'' Barbera acknowledged. ``So we do it through wholesalers who are authorized. We don't pay Cuba Packs.''
Ernesto Abreu, manager of Havana Tour, the Cuban agency that regulates travel between the United States and Cuba, said from Havana that he has also warned Miami agencies not to deal with El Español.
``There are two ways to send parcels: through individuals or through freight forwarders,'' said Armando Garcia, vice president for operations of Marazul Charters, a Miami agency. ``We comply with the established, regulated and legal procedure, which is freight forwarding.''
The price war began last week, after Cuba Packs announced it had set a flat $10-per-pound rate for medicine and food sent anywhere in the country. The rate for shipments of shoes and clothing to Havana is $10 per pound; to other cities, $15.
Cuba gets $5 for every pound of supplies delivered. The Miami agencies -- after paying for aircraft charter, packing and handling -- make $1.50 to $2 per pound.
``We make all shipments according to the rules, abiding by the laws of the governments of Cuba and the United States,'' said Maria Brieva, director of Machi Community Service, a travel and freight-forwarding agency.
According to Nilda Serret, director of the Miami-based agency Cuba Paquetes (not a branch of Cuba Packs International), the shipment of parcels to the island has dropped by 80 percent in the past several months.
``With the new rates, the community's interest has perked up and the volume of shipments will likely grow,'' said Garcia, of Marazul Charters.
In the past, packages could not hold medicine, food and clothing together. Shipping a parcel to the island's interior cost $23 per pound.
In addition to allowing the mixing of products, Havana now allows shipments to be packed and sealed in Miami. These parcels reach their addressees in Cuba in about eight days.
Industry sources told The Herald that CPI's new rates and regulations are aimed at eliminating illegal deliveries by the so-called bag men and at giving customers more peace of mind.
The ``bag men,'' or ``mules,'' commute to Cuba and deliver packages at the rate of $25 per pound. They also carry cash for relatives of Miamians, pocketing $20 of every $100 they're asked to deliver.
Every week, customs agents at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana seize thousands of pounds of baggage carried by the ``bag men,'' said an airport official who declined to give her name.
``Last week, we seized several suitcases that contained sealed packages with the names and addresses of the addressees,'' the woman said. ``We also found a list with the names and telephone numbers of the addressees. Whoever did this knows that it's a violation of [Cuban] law.''
A ``bag man'' interviewed by The Herald -- who spoke on condition of anonymity -- said the new, lower rates didn't endanger his trade.
``The agencies take at least two weeks to deliver a parcel,'' he said. ``Through me, the money goes directly to the hands of the relative. And people know that I can deliver a parcel in one or two days.''
According to research done by The Herald and Florida International University economist Antonio Jorge, the travel and freight industry to Cuba does a gross billing of at least $300 million a year, sometimes $400 million.
``Cuba keeps 20 to 25 percent of that; the agencies keep between 10 and 15 percent,'' Jorge said. ``That's an approximation -- and a conservative one, at that.''
Copyright © 1997 The Miami Herald