The general director of the Food Industry of Ciego de Ávila publicly acknowledged that the flour available in the province is primarily allocated for the production of sweets and pastries, while bread from the basic food basket barely reaches the population two days a month.
Rafael Pina Joba made the revelation in an interview with the Invasor Newspaper published this Wednesday, where he attempted to answer the question being asked by the people of Avileña: why is there flour for making sweets but not for the bread in the store?
The official acknowledged that so far in May, they have only received 32 tons of flour, enough for just two days of regulated bread. The goal was to deliver five days' worth each month.
"This month, we plan to provide five days of bread for the population, and in recent days we received a total of 32 tons of flour, which allowed us to offer two days of basic basket bread to the entire population," he stated.
The official ration is 60 grams per person per day, but with the current deficit, distribution is limited to one or two days a week. "Bread used to be provided every day at a dose of 60 grams for each of the residents. However, as I explained earlier regarding the raw material deficit, we are now only allowed it for one or two days a week," Pina Joba admitted.
The explanation for the sweets paradox is that the flour used in baking does not come from the state balance, but from private economic actors. "Today we have contracts with the economic actors that have allowed us to acquire specialized flour to maintain these baking productions," said the director, who added that the company is "required" by state directives to diversify its productions and connect with the non-state sector.
According to Pina Joba, state bakeries only produce cakes for quinceañeras—based on requests from the Commerce sector—and a minimal amount of pastries for sale. As for regular bread, it is also currently unavailable: "At this moment, we do not have regular bread. We are acquiring a small amount of flour through economic players and from companies that can provide it, which we are primarily directing towards small-scale pastry production."
Blackouts further exacerbate the situation. The company has had to use more than 25 electric ovens and recover wood-fired ovens to sustain production. In some cases, the dough is prepared in a unit that has electricity and then moved to another for baking, resulting in a deterioration of product quality.
As alternative productions, the Avilan food industry manufactures croquettes with cassava, pumpkin, and sweet potato extenders, banana chips, and noodle soups. The director also announced plans to open a store for selling vehicle parts, in order to ensure the salaries of its more than 1,300 provincial workers.
The bread crisis in Ciego de Ávila is not a new issue. In May 2025, distribution was already limited to alternate days due to a shortage of flour, and in September 2023, the ration was reduced to 50 grams per person. The problem is national: in Villa Clara, regulated bread was restricted to children under 13 and seniors over 65, with the ration cut in half and the price increased 15-fold. In Guantánamo, it is only guaranteed for children and prioritized institutions. By May 2026, the supply booklet had virtually collapsed as a means of subsistence across the island, a result of 67 years of an economic model that has been unable to ensure even daily bread for its population.
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