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The food security monitoring organization in Cuba, Food Monitor Program (FMP), published a report this Thursday documenting how the diesel shortage in Cuba has led farmers to exchange food for fuel, in what the organization describes as one of the most severe limitations in recent years for the country's agricultural production.
During the first quarter of 2026, the price of a liter of diesel on the black market ranges between 1,500 and 3,000 pesos depending on quality, quantity, and place of purchase, prices that agricultural producers cannot afford in cash.
However, in previous months, the price of diesel in the informal market reached 4,000 pesos, a figure that illustrates the extreme volatility of the black fuel market on the island.
Faced with this impossibility, the farmers have revived a barter system reminiscent of the crisis of the 1990s: they exchange cheese, cow's milk, beans, rice, pork, lard, peanuts, eggs, and chicken in exchange for the hydrocarbons they need to work their lands.
According to official data, the production of rice fell by 81%, and eggs by 61%, figures that reflect the ongoing collapse of the Cuban agricultural sector.
The impact of this crisis is not limited to small producers.
The 96.4% of the 9,236 registered agricultural MIPYMES in Cuba is facing severe restrictions due to the lack of fuel, which jeopardizes the national food supply chain.
International organizations have also warned about the consequences for the population. According to the FAO, even if food production is achieved in some cases, the population will not be able to access that food due to distribution issues and exorbitant prices.
The report warns that this exchange is not a permissible barter like that of clothing or appliances, but rather a practice criminalized by the regime, which views diesel as a strategic resource for the survival of the system.
In this context, the Cuban police arrested 16 people in Havana for the illegal sale of fuel, a sign of the active repression against these informal networks.
Meanwhile, Brazil announced on March 5 the dispatch of humanitarian aid to Cuba in the form of food, in a gesture that underscores the severity of the food situation on the island.
The report concludes that this exchange must be conducted quietly, with suspicion, and always aware of the reality that any seller or buyer could be an informant of the repressive apparatus.
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