The shortages of the products that the government regulates for its population will continue during the month of September, during which Cubans will stop receiving coffee and oil. There are shortages in the distribution of sugar, and the pounds of the remaining products will not be fulfilled for another consecutive month, while the authorities continue to call for "creative resistance."
According to Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Minister of Domestic Trade, who explained to official media, in Cuba "we do not have any plans for the month of September, just as there were none in August, for either oil or coffee."
Although the shortages in rice will not be supplemented, the directive stated that, now, in 12 provinces, the seven pounds of rice from the regulated family basket for August will be completed.
The most affected will be the inhabitants of Santiago de Cuba, whose consumers will receive six pounds of rice, in Granma with four or five, and Guantánamo, which must complete seven per capita, said a report from the state news agency Agencia Cubana de Noticias.
Another affected product is sugar, as the government continues to be unable to resolve the shortage, one of the most in-demand items, especially at the beginning of the school year and for students' snacks. They stated that alternatives are being sought, such as the importation of some volumes.
Apparently, what Cubans living on the island will surely have this ninth month of the year is salt and peas, although there are variations regarding the first one depending on the area of the country where the consumer resides.
"There is a ship with two thousand 800 tons in the port of Havana, which will allow us to catch up with the western provinces, while for the central and eastern parts of the country it will be done with boxes and containers based on the salt mining from eastern Cuba," specified the minister.
For their part, they are awaiting the arrival of a shipment of peas, a product that was secured during June, July, and August, as a ship was unloaded in Santiago de Cuba and, previously, another quantity of peas in Cienfuegos, and efforts are being made for its transportation, he noted.
Despite the insufficient national food production, the shortage of foreign currency for exports, and a fuel crisis affecting transportation, the Cuban regime stated last July that it would maintain the regulated family basket, although it acknowledged the lack of resources.
"Almost all the products in the basic family basket need to be imported, and this is the priority when allocating foreign currency for investment," stated Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz in a session of the Service Attention Commission, prior to the third ordinary session of the tenth legislature.
It is worth remembering that at the beginning of July, the residents of Holguín received the rice shortage that the government owed them from June. A similar scenario was experienced throughout the eastern region of the island.
This situation is part of the ongoing issues with the distribution of products in the regulated food basket, which has not been delivered in full for years or suffers from constant delays.
"2023 concluded with impacts on beans, sugar, oil, coffee, chicken, meat products, eggs, and domestic fuels, which persisted into the first quarter of 2024," stated a report from the official digital site Cubadebate, which presented the "accountability" of the Ministry of Domestic Trade before the National Assembly of People's Power.
Minister Díaz Velázquez herself has acknowledged that "there is a fragmentation in deliveries to the retail network due to financial difficulties that prevent reaching the necessary coverage and the timeliness in the receipt of products." This is reflected on the Cuban table due to the shortage of products that the government promises month after month but fails to deliver.
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