Havana ? Hoping to whet Cuba’s appetite for wheat, peas and other food from his state, Gov. John Hoeven of North Dakota traveled Monday to the communist nation on a trade mission, making him only the second U.S. governor to visit in more than 40 years.

The Republican governor’s four-day visit comes as he and other officials from farming states press Congress to expand a 2-year-old law allowing direct sales of food to Cuba, an exception to sanctions prohibiting most trade with the island.

“We are working hard to stir up new contracts for more North Dakota food,” Hoeven said upon his arrival Monday. “We are going to focus on the food contracts.”

Emphasizing the visit was pure business, Hoeven declined to comment on political issues. He skirted questions about his opinion of existing American trade sanctions against the Caribbean country as well as attempts in Congress to allow financing for U.S. food sales to Cuba now conducted on a cash basis.

Pedro Alvarez, president of the Cuban food import concern Alimport, said his country hoped U.S. lawmakers would eventually allow financing for food sales to Cuba. The island could buy as much as 60 percent to 70 percent of all imported food from the United States if financing were allowed, Alvarez said.

Hoeven said last week he decided to go ahead with the trip despite what he said were “concerns” from the Bush administration, which has discouraged most dealings with the island.

Hoeven is the second sitting American governor to visit Cuba in the four decades since the United States imposed trade sanctions against the island. Illinois Gov. George Ryan visited Cuba on similar trade missions in 1999 and earlier this year; Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has said he hoped to visit by year’s end.

A shipping container with 22 tons of North Dakota products arrived earlier in the day, including hard red spring wheat, green peas, yellow peas, black beans, pinto beans and barley.

While in Cuba, the North Dakota delegation will visit a pasta factory, cooperative farms, a supermarket and meet primarily with trade officials, members of the group said.

U.S. lawmakers from farm states are pushing to end a ban on American financing of the sales to make it easier to sell to Cuba. But President Bush says he’ll veto any more efforts to ease existing sanctions until Cuba undertakes economic and political reform.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, pushed for the law allowing sales and argued against restrictions.