A Cuban woman showcased on TikTok what she was able to acquire with 11,100 Cuban pesos —equivalent to 18.50 dollars at the unofficial exchange rate— in a grocery shopping experience that starkly highlights the purchasing power crisis facing the island. The video published by Adita (@adis_nails15) last Saturday garnered over 82,000 views in less than 48 hours.
"In Cuba, there is food; the only thing lacking is money to buy it," the author warns at the beginning of the video, before detailing each product purchased.
With those 11,100 pesos, Adita bought five pounds of pork (ribs) for 5,400 CUP (~9 USD), five pounds of chicken for 2,500 CUP (~4.20 USD), three pounds of ground beef for 1,140 CUP (~1.90 USD), a tube of processed ham for 660 CUP (~1 USD), ten eggs for 1,000 CUP (~1.70 USD), and five pounds of salt for 400 CUP (~0.67 USD).
The purchase, focused almost exclusively on proteins, does not include rice, beans, root vegetables, or any other staple food. In the informal market, rice is priced at 31,800 CUP per bag, beans at 8,000 CUP for a five-kilogram package, and onions between 380 and 900 CUP per pound.
The 11,100 pesos from the video represent approximately 16% of the average state salary in Cuba, which is around 6,930 CUP per month —equivalent to just 13-15 dollars at the informal exchange rate— according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information.
The contrast is even more severe when considering a study by economist Javier Pérez Capdevila, published last Wednesday and based on surveys conducted in 51 municipalities across all provinces, which estimates the basic per capita cost of living at 96,060 CUP per month. The food component of that basket alone amounts to 70,070 CUP per month, approximately ten times the average salary.
The video of Adita falls within a viral trend that frequently repeats on TikTok throughout 2026. On May 29, another Cuban demonstrated that with 30,000 pesos she purchased meat products and bread to feed a family of four for approximately a month. On May 22, a third user documented that with 10,500 pesos she could only acquire nine basic products, without meat, rice, or beans. In February, another creator showed how 10,000 pesos were spent in a single purchase of food and hygiene items.
The informal exchange rate of the dollar in Cuba was around 615 CUP last Saturday, according to elTOQUE, compared to the official rate set by the Central Bank of 533 CUP, a gap that reflects the lack of confidence in the national currency and the dependence on remittances to access food.
"Let me know what you thought of the prices and if they were appropriate," Adita concluded her video, a question that received a unanimous response in the comments: for most Cubans, those prices are far from being adequate.
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