Factory managersCoppelia and the ice cream parlor explained the economic reasons whyThe price of the ball was increased from 5 to 9 pesos, a decision that has generated deep discomfort in the population and that adds to other criticisms about the service itself.
Amauri Martínez Tamayo, director of the Coppelia ice cream parlor, defends himself by arguing that theyThey only earn 1.90 of the 9 pesos in which the scoop of ice cream is sold, and the rest of the amount corresponds to other sections.
Greater is the profit margin of the industry, whosecost for making each tub (55 balls) is 300 pesosand sells it for 324.90, which represents a profit of 24.90 pesos. That profit is the maximum authorized by law, according to a recent Cuban television report that delved into the subject.
The UEB Helados Coppelia hadlosses in 2021 that exceeded 800 thousand pesos, and it already has losses of more than 8 million pesos in the first three months of 2022.
However, the factory director, Ana Mercedes Herrera Rubier, assures thatThe new price is not intended to compensate for the negative numbers or achieve efficiency at the expense of the consumer's pocket.
The first of the reasons given for the increase isan increase in the prices paid to farmers for each liter of fresh milk, which is part of the measures to stimulate agricultural production on the island and which impacts the wholesale costs of industrial milk production.
Livestock farmers defend this incentive in paying for their production because they pay for inputs in foreign currency and a pair of boots can cost them 5 thousand pesos.
Ana Mercedes Rubier says that, in addition to the aforementioned increase in milk, they areincreased expenses on raw materials, which in some cases depend on imports, and cites figures:
“A ton of eggs is around 180 thousand pesos and the factory uses a ton of eggs every three days. Added to this is that a ton of national sugar costs over 10 thousand pesos. In addition, butter is used, which is paid at 112 thousand per ton."says Herrera Rubier, who adds among the costs the salary of his 300 workers and transportation.
“Today we try to restructure, to organize, to reorganize ourselves as the rest of the country is being reorganized to be efficient and also to be able to give greater monetary compensation to our workers, who work from Monday to Saturday and sometimes from Monday to Monday, without rest. ”, concluded the factory director.
The director of Coppelia, for his part, refers to expenses for electricity, water and various types of taxes that leave the ice cream parlor without much of a profit margin, with only the aforementioned amount of 1.90 as profit.
Among the suggestions from the official press to study a possible price reduction isreevaluate the usefulness of almost 25 pesos that the industry earns, in addition to reducing imports of flavors for dairy mixtures and making greater use of Cuban fruits, as well as a study of the tax obligations that weigh down costs.
The recent price increase in the cost of ice cream, which went from selling a Coppelia ice cream salad from 25 to 45 pesos, is compounded by the poor functioning of the ice cream parlor beyond the price of the product itself.
In March, the Cuban official journalist Fidel Díaz Castro generated controversy by proposinghand over “to the FAR” the management of the popular ice cream parlor.
The publication generated dozens of comments, one group commenting on the irremediable disaster that is Coppelia and others questioning or directly reproaching the communicator that the solution is to hand over the management of the popular establishment to the military. Several comments abounded in corruption, diversion and resale of tubs on the left as an old evil endemic to Coppelia.
After being closed for a few months due to the epidemiological situation associated with the coronavirus and in order to avoid crowds, the ice cream parlor reopened its doors in September 2021 but by telephone reservation, for which three numbers were enabled.
That solution ended up generating countless complaints, which is why at the end of January Coppelia resumed its normal operation, that is, entry to the facility on a first-come, first-served basis and without the need for a telephone reservation.
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