The Ministry of Domestic Trade (MINCIN) announced this Monday on its Facebook page that in July it will distribute rationed rice in seven provinces, with amounts ranging from eight pounds per consumer in Las Tunas, Holguín, and Granma, to five pounds in Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo, and only three pounds in Havana and the Isle of Youth.
The state agency warned that "distribution is carried out gradually based on fuel availability" and referred to the provincial Telegram channels for more details. The rice in question comes from donations from China—the 50-kilogram sacks bear the inscription "Rice from China" and the humanitarian aid emblem of the Chinese government—part of a package approved by Xi Jinping in January 2026, which includes up to 90,000 tons for this year.
The citizens' reaction in the comments on the publication was one of massive skepticism and open frustration. "I'll believe it when I see it," wrote one person. "I'll believe it when it reaches 8 pounds," noted another. The distrust is not unfounded: the rice donated by China still has not arrived in many provinces weeks after each official announcement.
One of the most frequently voiced complaints was the exclusion of entire provinces from the distribution. Residents of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Camagüey, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila, Pinar del Río, Artemisa, and Mayabeque protested because their territories were not included on the list. "They must have forgotten that we all need to eat every day, regardless of geographic location; we all have our stomachs in the same place," summarized a commentator.
From Guantánamo, several Cubans directly contradicted the official announcement: "Why do they keep lying about the 5 lbs in Guantánamo? They only distributed 3 lbs, and they were well sold, nothing was a donation; everything here in this province becomes a deception," one of them reported. Another pointed out that the promised pounds from previous distributions had not yet arrived at their warehouse.
The complaint about undelivered previous distributions was recurrent. "The three pounds prior to Mariel still haven't arrived, so these will come in December," quipped a resident of Artemisa. From Holguín, someone pointed out that "in the municipalities, particularly Freyre, their neighborhoods have never received anything," and another person reported that "the last I heard about a donation was that it was stolen from the Freyre warehouse in Holguín; it never reached the town."
The official argument regarding the fuel did not convince everyone. "Too slowly. Today is the 13th and while it arrives, it needs to be paid for at over 300 per pound," wrote a Cuban, referring to the price that rice reaches in the informal market, where the pound is priced between 300 and 340 Cuban pesos compared to the official cap of 155 CUP. Another questioned: "When? Because there is fuel for the rallies and marches."
There were also doubts about the quality of the product that ultimately arrives at the warehouses. "That rice comes in bags. I do not expect to receive it in bulk; they give me rice that is not the one donated by China and is of very poor quality," warned a commentator.
The background of this announcement is the collapse of the supply rationing system in Cuba, publicly acknowledged by officials of the regime in May 2026. Domestic production of rice covers less than 6% of internal consumption, which makes the country entirely dependent on imports and donations. An April 2026 report identified five provinces at critical levels of food insecurity: Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cuba.
“It’s already July 15 and nothing at all... maybe by the 26th but we’re not sure, and it’s been a while since we’ve had rice... or sugar... or oil or anything,” wrote a 64-year-old woman, succinctly capturing what the official announcement does not convey.
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