The municipal councils of Moa and Banes, in the province of Holguín, set this week the reference price for cooking oil at 2,200 pesos per unit, in response to complaints from the population about the uncontrolled rise of the product in the retail market.
In Banes, as reported by Radio Banes on Facebook, the oil was reaching around 4,000 pesos before the municipal intervention, nearly double the reference price now established.
The official statement from Moa specifies that the measure does not constitute a price cap, but rather "the result of the economic assessment conducted on the costs and marketing expenses," supported by Resolution 148/2023 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices, which establishes a maximum profit margin of 30% on the cost per invoice.
In practice, however, the distinction is merely cosmetic: the authorities of both municipalities announced penalties for those who exceed that limit, which amounts to a hidden cap that contradicts the national policy of price liberalization promoted by the regime itself.
Offenders in Moa may face the confiscation of their products, forced sales, fines in accordance with Decree 30/2021 and Decree Law 91/2024, and a temporary closure of the establishment for up to three months.
In addition to oil, the Board of Directors of Moa extended price controls to other essential products: meat — chicken, sausages, ground meat, cold cuts, and eggs — powdered milk, pasta, rice, beans, and imported sugar, as well as soap and detergents.
The municipality of Guantánamo was the first to set that same reference price of 2,200 pesos on August 5, establishing the precedent that Moa, Banes, and other territories followed days later.
Moa's own statement acknowledges that "the province of Holguín and other municipalities are joining in the analysis and implementation of these measures, in the context of the national effort to tackle abusive prices and speculation."
The crisis has a clear origin: Resolution 150/2026 from the Ministry of Finance and Prices, which came into effect on June 20, removed the price caps on imported cooking oils, repealing the previous limit of 990 pesos per liter.
Since then, the increase has been rapid: from about 1,500 pesos in April to 2,000 in June, 2,500 in Havana by the end of July, 3,000 in Sancti Spíritus in less than 24 hours, and up to 5,000 pesos in some areas at the beginning of August.
The most revealing fact about the crisis is that the monthly minimum wage in Cuba was set at 3,210 pesos since July 2026, a figure lower than the price reached by oil in much of the country.
The situation worsens when considering that economists estimate that a person needs around 96,060 pesos per month to meet their basic needs, a gap that makes access to essential food items an unattainable luxury for most.
Social pressure has also surged on social media. "What I earn in salary I have to spend on oil, and what do I eat, oil? Because I can't buy anything else. Up to 5,000, this doesn’t stop," wrote a Cuban in a comment that went viral.
While municipalities attempt to mitigate the damage with emergency measures, the price of eggs has also skyrocketed to 7,500 pesos per carton in some provinces, and a bag of powdered milk was sold for 6,500 pesos in Matanzas, indicating that the price crisis far exceeds that of oil.
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