A resident of Isla de la Juventud reported this Monday that the price of a pack of chicken in that special municipality skyrocketed from 3,130 pesos to over 7,000 pesos in cash within a matter of days, a surge that reflects the direct impact of the price liberalization decreed by the Cuban regime.
Ramón Leyva Morales shared the report through the Facebook page Faro Piñero (Carapachibey Pinero), where he also posted a screenshot from the group Mi Isla Q' Bola showing a seller offering 10-pound chicken packages —Holly Farms brand, drumsticks— for 6,700 pesos in cash or 6,500 pesos per box.
"This is how we are in Dubai, I mean, in the Isle of Youth. And also with seven thousand and something more, in cash. Only for the upper class of our society. The price was 3,130 per package," Leyva wrote with irony.
The author directly pointed to the regime as responsible: "The Cuban State and Government removed the price cap on this food, and now eating is not essential for survival but a luxury for a few. This is a measure that adds more mistakes and distortions, affecting the quality of life for the majority of the country's inhabitants, including workers, technicians, and healthcare and education personnel."
Leyva closed his publication with a phrase that summarizes the mood of thousands of Cubans: "We continue for our homeland and also for death, but for hunger."
The trigger for this escalation is the Resolution 150/2026 from the Ministry of Finance and Prices published last June.
The regulation has eliminated price caps for chopped chicken, edible oils, powdered milk, pasta, and sausages, repealing previous resolutions that set a maximum of 680 Cuban pesos per kilogram of chicken.
The situation is worsening because chicken is not being distributed through the supply booklet: the Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, admitted in June that chicken, oil, or yogurt had not been allocated through that channel, leaving the informal market as the only access point for most Cubans.
The same dynamic affects other basic commodities. The liter of vegetable oil rose from 2,000 to 3,000 pesos in less than 24 hours in Sancti Spíritus, and just days earlier, it was reported at 2,800 pesos in Isla de la Juventud.
Independent estimates calculate that a Cuban family needs around 96,000 pesos monthly to cover basic needs, of which more than 70,000 correspond solely to food.
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