Havana ? Cuban President Fidel Castro fed milk to a buffalo calf from Minnesota and greeted Gov. Jesse Ventura and top American food producers Thursday at a huge exhibition aimed at opening the communist island to U.S. food sales.

The 76-year-old revolutionary leader signed a $10 million contract to buy U.S. rice, cooking oil and soy from an Illinois-based company. He also quipped that he had a deal for the new U.S. diplomat here, Interests Section Chief James Cason.

“If we don’t pay, we’ll give him $100 million,” said Castro of Cason, who warned exhibitors Wednesday night that Cuba doesn’t pay its debts.

Displays at the U.S. Food and Agribusiness Exhibition, which began Thursday in Havana, included pastries from Sara Lee Foods of Ohio, wines from Washington state, Splash Tropical Drinks of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and cheese, butter and margarine from Land O’Lakes Inc. of Arden Hills, Minn.

Exhibition organizer Peter Nathan wished the 288 American exhibitors luck in making new sales and invited them to “take the message back home that the Cuban market is a fertile area for American companies to do business.”

“We today open a new chapter in our relationship with Cuba,” said G. Allen Andreas, chairman and chief executive of Illinois-based agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, or ADM, lead sponsor of the show. ADM, the world’s largest producer of soybeans, corn, wheat and cocoa, has been especially bullish about trying to open the Cuban market to American food producers.

Castro, who has ruled Cuba since 1959, did not speak at the inauguration of the event, which Cuban officials hope will help strengthen pressure to ease or eliminate four decades of American restrictions on trade and travel with the Caribbean nation. Surrounded by his security men and trailed by a clutch of photographers and cameramen, the Cuban leader tasted a milk shake as he was led down the aisles of the exhibition hall.

A U.S. law that took effect in 2000 allows for direct commercial sales of American food and other agricultural products to Cuba on a cash basis. It’s an exception to the 40-year trade embargo against the island.

Cuban President Fidel Castro, center, greets Pedro Alvarez of the Cuban food import firm Alimport, far right, and G. Allen Andreas, chairman and chief executive of Illinois-based agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland. The three met Thursday in Havana during the U.S. Food and Agribusiness Exhibition.