Cuban’s Economic System, Geography, Crisis, Foreign Capital and Growth Opportunities

Introduction:
Cuba has realized significant economic growth since it is at the center of trade based on its geographical characteristics. As such, countries, such as Spain have accrued far-reaching benefits, especially in international trade. Most of the Cubans practice cash crop farming as a result of ample fertile soil and flat land. Equally, Cuba realizes significant economic growth and expansion as a result of having effective transport systems. Since the 1990s Cuban government has encouraged foreign investment to attract more foreign investors to further facilitate the growth of the economy (NBCUniversal News Group, 2020). However, the United States sanctioned Cuba in 2020, making the latter lose much of its foreign capital resources. In the future, Cuba is likely to focus more on public services and natural resources. Over the years, the key focus of the Cuban government has been on improving existing agricultural systems to attain economic growth. Considerably, Cuba has numerous growth opportunities such as expediting economic growth through availability of fertile soil and abundance of land.
#1 Impact of Geography
Cuba, although small, has grown big in terms of its economy, through its geographic characteristics. Its location has made it a center of commerce throughout history, as Spain has utilized its location and resources in order to make profit in international trade. The climate of Cuba due to its location in the globe coupled with fertile soil and flat, level land, make it ideal to grow cash crops such as sugar cane (Semevskiy, 1966). This contributed to the prosperity of Cuba in the past. Cuba’s fertile plains is one of the most important geographic characteristics that gives its edge in agriculture and acquisition of other natural resources.
The mountainous areas account to about one-fifth of the island, some areas are ridden with fertile valleys and gentle slope. The Cauto is one of the most pronounced valleys in the island as it is more than a hundred miles long. Among other areas that are essential for Cuba’s economy is situated in the northern coast in Pinar del Rio which runs parallel to low range mountains of Sierra de los Organos. In the district west of Havana is the Vuelto Abajo, which hosts vast level plains for the plantations of tobacco (Whitbeck, 1922).
The island of Cuba is surrounded by many ideal locations for ports, which make the transport and trade of goods more efficient, contributing to their growth and economic development. This makes their export of sugar easier. Cuba’s location in the globe grants it two seasons, a wet and a dry season, and its tropical location guarantees the good growth of different crops. Its forested areas have provided lumber for the emerging settlements and growth of cities. However, due to the growing demands of the ever-growing communities, much of the forests have been converted to cultivated farms both for agriculture and animals such as cows (Trumbull, 2021). Cuba’s geographical location is advantageous for its marketing of its products since it lies near many countries with high demands of sugar, cigarettes, and cigars, which contribute to the overall growth of the country.
#2 Trade over last 30 years
Sugar is Cuba’s main export product throughout history. Refined fuels, tobacco, nickel and other minerals are the major exports in Cuba also. There are lots of countries have been the main trading partners with Cuba, such as Venezuela, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, China, and Canada (Encyclopædia Britannica,2021). In addition, there are many important imports trade in Cuba. Mineral fuels, food, machines and chemicals are the most important imports in Cuba.
During the 20th centry, the United States was been a main trading partner with Cuba, and over half amount of Cuban foreign trading was done with the United States. Besides, a large part of Cuba’s economy comes from the United States.
The government of Cuba focused on keeping ang improving the agricultural systems that were passed on to them by past colonizers. In the past, most of Cuba's land were used to cultivate crops to be exported to other countries. Presently, Cuba has regulated their trade and has improved their status in GDP (Backer, 2019). In the statistical records of Cuba, by the year 2000, the percentage employed by the public states was at 76%, while the private sector employed about 23%. Most employed in the private sector were self-employed. Cuba was able to enrich itself and provide subsidies for food, education and shelter, making the population's lifestyle comfortable and progressive.
The country of Cuba has grown throughout history by being the supplier of products that are loved by their neighboring countries. There is a high demand of their natural yield.
Cuba's economy has drastically changed over the past years. Historically, Cuba has been an important colony of Spain, and it has also undergone rule under the Americans and the Soviets. Presently, most enterprises are run by the state. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the prominent party in the country, the Communist party of Cuba facilitated the creation of worker cooperatives and encouraged self-employment. After plenty of years under rule, the Cubans were able to organize their leadership ang bring back prosperity. After years of exploitation, they were able to use their resources to improve the quality of life for their own citizens.
#3 Proposed changes to trade
Cuba has many opportunities for economic growth. Because of Cuba’s abundant land and fertile soil, they are able to create a booming economy based on agriculture. The land paves the way for crops that can be traded for cash. Because of the crop based, profits, Cubans are able to reap the benefits of their cultural farming practices that maximize yield and profits. Because the demand is him in other countries, cultivating crops such as sugar, rice and tobacco are extremely profitable. The demand for products which use these things as raw material is high. The growing population takes a strong toll on supply chains thereby affecting overall global productivity. Cuba can expand its operations by making the most of their abundant resources and ideal tropical climate for agricultural products. Cash crops such as sugar, corn and rice are especially profitable and appropriate for Cuba’s potentials in plant production and processing (Vidal- Alejandro, 2019). The world is continually changing, and the appearance of new technologies are paving the way for supplying the needs and demands of the masses. In the future, humanity will be able to do the things that they love with the convenience of artificial intelligence in trade and production methods. Through AI, institutions are able to connect and integrate the workforce with the profits and progress of integrated efforts. In the future, it is best to adapt to the rapid changes that integrate community needs with progressive allocation of resources. Through these efforts, the people can create a new economy that revolves around trust and quality of service or product. Cubans can adapt trading changes in the form of economic policies that benefit the masses and interest for change and development. By collaborating with countries with high demands for Cuba’s products, profits can be maximized and utilized for the improvement of Cuba’s citizen’s lifestyles.