La Habana, Jan. 5 — The Cuban Coabana Trading Company LLC, a subsidiary of Reneo Consulting, will export charcoal produced in Cuba from an invasive plant to the United States in a historic step as part of the countries’ improving relations.

An agreement was signed Thursday with the state-owned Cuba Export company.

The charcoal is produced by private cooperatives from marabou, an invasive plant of African origin, and will be start shipping early this year. It will be marketed in the U.S. by Fogo Charcoal, a subsidiary of Susshi International.

A report from the Cuban state news agency Prensa Latina says that the first shipment consists of two 20-ton containers of charcoal priced at US$420 per ton.

For Reneo President Scott Gilbert, the trade is mutually beneficial. Converting marabou — an invasive plant spread over large areas of Cuba’s fertile land — to charcoal, provides income while also clearing land for agriculture, and gives American consumers “the best handmade coal in the world,” which has been supplied to Europe and other parts of the world for years.

Gilbert said the U.S. economic and trade embargo on Cuba still “severely limits” trade possibilities, adding it was “the most severe trade and travel restriction” that the U.S. has ever imposed on a country. This shipment of coal is the first export from Cuba to the U.S. since 1962.

“This failed cold war relic should be relegated to the junkyard of history, where it belongs,” insisted Gilbert.

In recent weeks, Cuba and the U.S. have accelerated the process of signing bilateral agreements and visits to advance the trade between the countries before Republican president-elect Donald Trump arrives in the White House later this month. EFE