The Cuban government published this Thursday in the two resolutions from the Ministry of Finance and Prices that establish new rates for liquefied gas and manufactured gas in Cuban pesos, effective immediately.
Resolution 155/2026 sets the price of liquefied gas at 35 CUP per kilogram, raising the cost of a standard 10 kg cylinder to 350 Cuban pesos.
This represents a 55% increase compared to the previous price of 225 CUP per cylinder, effective from March 1, 2024.
The Resolution 156/2026 establishes manufactured gas at 4.97 CUP per cubic meter for the residential and non-productive non-residential sectors, nearly double the 2.50 CUP/m³ that had been in effect since January 2021.
For hospitals, nursing homes, and centers for children without parental care, the differentiated rate is set at 4.00 CUP/m³.
Both resolutions were signed on July 1, 2026, by Minister Vladimir Regueiro Ale and accompany Decree 156/2026 from the Council of Ministers, signed by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz on June 29, which modifies the legal framework so that these prices can be set by ministerial resolution instead of Council agreements.
The official document justifies the increase in the price of liquefied gas due to "the complex reality of the energy blockade that the country is experiencing, the scarcity of fuels in particular, with respect to oil imports and the sustained rise in costs," while it attributes the rise in manufactured gas to "the sustained increase in costs and expenses that ensure the supply over the last five years."
The paradox is significant: the regime sets an official price in pesos for a product that practically doesn’t exist in the state system and is primarily obtained in dollars.
Since May, platforms like Supermarket23, Katapulk, and KMCERO have been selling liquefied gas cylinders for between 24 and 29 dollars, without accepting Cuban pesos.
At the informal exchange rate of 655 CUP per dollar, a 29-dollar item amounts to 18,995 CUP, which is more than 54 times the new official price of 350 CUP. In fact, the 24-dollar option represents about 15,720 CUP.
In the informal market, the gas canisters were reselling for 50 dollars in June, more than double the price on state digital platforms.
The cylinders distributed by online stores are the same as those from the state system, with logistics connected to CUPET facilities, as documented in a report by 14yMedio.
However, in June, CUPET itself warned about identity theft through fake digital sites and WhatsApp channels that were selling small gas canisters in dollars using the name of the state-owned company.
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