The price of pork in Havana reaches 80 pesos per pound

Cuban self-employed workers raised the value of pork to 80 pesos (3.25 USD) per pound, despite the price cap established by the authorities in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the official newspaperHavana Tribune, although the government established a maximum of 45 pesos per pound ofPork Meat, one of the most demanded by the country's population, many sellers offer it at almost double that value.

Tania Acosta, a resident of the Havana municipality of Cerro, tells the newspaper that she went to a point of sale and when she reminded the seller that the meat should cost 45 pesos, he responded thatHe sells it for 80 and "if you don't like it, eat the money".

Meat figures have been rising gradually. In mid-April the pound was trading at 55 pesos, generating discomfort among buyers who stated that prices were through the roof, but given the need there was no choice but to pay it.

"A large ham right now costs you 80, 90 or more than 100 dollars," confirmed a reader toCyberCuba.

Many believe that the shortage of pork on the market is precisely due to the government measure to cap its price, which causes the product to begin to circulate on the black market and at an even higher cost.

In the middle of thefood crisis that the island is going through, other products have also doubled and even six-folded their cost during the health emergency.

In March, for example, rice was sold for 5 and 6 pesos in the free markets, and now it is only sold for 25 pesos.

Likewise, a resident of Central Havana, Alfredo Pérez, told the newspaper that in his area each plantain costs 6 pesos, when the stipulation is to sell them by the pound at a maximum value of 3.50 Cuban pesos.

In this regard, the coordinator of the Government Inspection and Control Program in Havana, Orestes Llanes Mestre, stated to that local weekly that since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak on the Island, 17,000 control actions have been carried out on self-employed workers. , forklift drivers and competitors in supply-demand markets.

The sanctions have generated "imposition of fines, withdrawal of licenses and leasing permits for state premises," the official explained.

However, despite the fact that the government claims to be applying special decrees to control the rise in prices during the crisis, thehigh demand food products They continue to be sold at prices that are inaccessible to the majority of the population.

“We always demand severity. But then they bring up mitigating factors, such as the worker's time in the sector without committing violations, and only apply reprimands. The majority are violating prices again,” said Eliezer Almarales, an official from the provincial and municipal Comprehensive Directorate of Supervision and Control (Disc).

During the emergency generated by the COVID-19 disease, many Cubans suffering from the food crisis in the country have been subjected to endless lines despite the isolation measures imposed to stop the epidemic.

The city has stopped and its avenues are practically empty, except for points of sale of groceries or chicken meat, a product that can bring together dozens of people.