Between June 2023 and August 2024, Cuba imported eggs from the Dominican Republic for a total of 6,726,483.6 dollars, a measure driven by the urgent need to compensate for the lack of national production due to the deep crisis in the agricultural sector, especially in poultry farming, affected by the scarcity of inputs and resources.
The executive director of the Dominican Association of Poultry Producers (ADA), Gregory Marte, pointed out to the news portal Diario Libre that the Cuban market has shown a significant increase in the demand for eggs, driven by Cuba's internal difficulties to sustain its own production.
Marte indicated that Dominican companies have been working to overcome the logistical challenges involved in exporting to the island, but emphasized that difficulties persist, mainly in maritime shipments.
However, the increase in egg exports to Cuba was driven by the temporary closure of the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which led Dominican producers to seek new markets and redirect their surplus towards the largest nation in the Caribbean, which quickly became a viable outlet for the production surplus.
However, after the partial reopening of the border, exports to Cuba continued to rise, with a large shipment of eggs in October 2023, valued at $471,660, far exceeding the first import recorded that year, which was only $42,767 in June.
This growth was made possible, in part, by the certification of three Dominican companies –Grupo Don Julio, Endy Agroindustrial, and Agropecuaria Wilse– for the sale of poultry products to Cuba, which has allowed for a constant flow of exports, Diario Libre reported.
Dominican exports to Cuba continue to rise, and by August 2024, the value of egg shipments had exceeded 1.95 million dollars.
Dominican authorities and poultry producers are confident that this market will continue to grow as logistical conditions improve and trade ties between both countries strengthen, noted the cited source.
A source from the poultry sector of the Dominican Republic, quoted by Diario Libre, mentioned that Cuban demand has been so dynamic that one of these companies sent nearly a million eggs to that country in just one week.
In 2020, Cuba produced around five million eggs, but by 2023 that figure had dropped to just 2.2 million, according to figures from the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture.
However, national production has experienced a drastic decline, despite the emergency measures implemented, such as the procurement of quail eggs, which ultimately proved to be ineffective.
For example, due to a severe shortage of feed, poultry farmers in Cuba were forced to sacrifice around 54,000 laying hens last June in Holguín, as they could not sustain their feeding.
This situation has forced the country to seek solutions abroad, not only in the Dominican Republic but also in Colombia, from where they hope to import up to 40 million eggs by the end of 2024.
However, these are not the only countries from which Cuba imports eggs. At the beginning of 2024, CNN correspondent in Cuba, Patrick Oppmann, was surprised to find eggs produced in the United States for sale in a Cuban store.
At the same time, the internal crisis in Cuba has led to a surge in egg consumption, as high prices for red meats have driven many Cubans to rely more on this source of protein. However, in recent months, a carton has reached a value of 5,000 pesos.
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