The purpose of this research is to describe an interna tional marketing plan, whereby an American company would export products to Cuba. As commercial trade between Cuba and the United States is prohibited by American law, the trade would be conducted through a Canadian subsidiary of the American com pany.
The description of the international marketing plan is presented in seven separate discussions. These discussions address issues related to (1) type of business, (2) product line, (3) mode of participation, (4) market evaluation, (5) competition, (6) functional issues, and (7) environmental scanning.
The type of business selected was food processing. This business type was selected because the foodstuffs category is one of the four major product areas of Cuban imports (Paxton, 1990). The other major import product areas are (1) raw mater ials, which are not suitable for export through a Canadian sub sidiary of an American company, (2) fuel, which would require access to Canadian natural resources, and (3) major transporta tion equipment, such as locomotives, automobiles, trucks,
1 2busses, and tractors, which involves an industry which has been internationalized between Canada and the United States since the Auto Pact of 1965, and wherein the production of components in each country would complicate problems of Cuban export (Rudolph, 1987). Minor items of transportation equipment, such as bicycles, are manufactured with efficiency within the Cuban economy.
Foodstuffs required by Cuba range from raw grains to fruit to certain processed foods (Rudolph, 1987). Raw grains would require access by an American company to major Canadian resources, while fresh fruits would require shipment of the product from the United States to Canada. Neither of these activities is feasible with respect to the purpose of this international marketing plan. Food processing, by contrast, presents a feasible option for a Canadian subsidia...