Japan suspends insurance on exports to Cuba -Nikkei

NEW YORK Aug 18 (Reuters) - Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, the Japanese government-backed provider of trade insurance, has stopped accepting new applications for trade insurance on business with Cuba, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The Central Bank of Cuba's failure to pay for Japanese imports by agreed dates is behind the decision, the Nikkei said in a report on its website.

It means that almost all exports from Japan to Cuba will come to a halt for now, it added.

The newspaper reported Japanese government officials as saying that Cuba was often short of foreign exchange reserves because of U.S. economic sanctions, and that the high cost of crude oil and food appears to have made the situation worse. The report didn't identify specific sources for the information.

Cuba's central bank couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Martin Howell; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)