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Residents of various localities in the Pinar del Río municipality of Sandino can barely secure enough bread from the basic food basket for the next five days, local authorities acknowledged while reporting the arrival of a limited amount of wheat flour in the area.
According to information published by Radio Sandino, the situation impacts the communities of Manuel Lazo, Las Martinas, and La Grifa, which are among the most remote in the municipality. In these areas, the supply relies not only on the availability of flour but also on obtaining fuel and transportation to move it.
"Manuel Lazo's units, Las Martinas, and La Grifa will receive wheat flour for five days, which depends on a means of transportation and fuel for its transfer to each location," explained Reinier Puentes Corrales, director of the Basic Food Unit of Sandino.
Local authorities assure that they are coordinating with the municipal government to maintain the production of bread intended for the regulated family basket and the so-called prioritized organizations, after these communities went several days without receiving flour.
The situation at the main bakery in Sandino is slightly less critical. According to the official report, the facility had not accumulated production delays because it had previously received the assigned raw materials. However, the available reserves barely lasted until the day following the publication of the report.
The situation reflects the combination of two problems that are simultaneously affecting Cuba: the scarcity of wheat flour and the lack of fuel to transport and process it.
The supply crisis is spreading throughout the country. In early June, the Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, admitted that the wheat mills were either shut down or operating at minimal capacities due to a lack of raw materials.
The official also acknowledged that, out of the more than six shipments of wheat planned for this year, only three cargoes had arrived. Cuba requires about 20,000 tons of flour monthly to ensure the production of regulated bread alone.
In Pinar del Río, the challenges have forced the search for emergency solutions. Since the beginning of the year, dozens of bakeries started operating with generators or with wood-fired ovens to maintain production. In municipalities like Guane and La Palma, all facilities came to operate exclusively using the latter method.
The scenes are repeating in other provinces of the country. In some municipalities of Guantánamo, flour has had to be transported by mules to reach isolated communities, while in areas like Ciego de Ávila deliveries have barely sufficed to cover a few days of consumption.
The fuel shortage continues to exacerbate the problem. Last May, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, publicly admitted that the country was facing a critical situation regarding fuel availability.
This scarcity turns the distribution of flour into a logistical challenge as complex as the shortage of the product itself. For the inhabitants of Manuel Lazo, Las Martinas, and La Grifa, uncertainty does not end with the arrival of this shipment: the reserves barely last for a few days, and the future of daily bread continues to rely on resources that remain scarce throughout Cuba.
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