The Provincial Government of the People's Power in Matanzas issued an official notice with phone numbers to report abusive prices on essential food products, amid a surge in prices that has exceeded the limits set by provincial authorities in early August.
The authorized bodies for receiving complaints are the Provincial Attorney General's Office (45271708), the Provincial Directorate of Commerce (45273924 and 52896565), Bandec (45243992), ONAT (45286184), and the Provincial Inspection Directorate (45282901 reception / 52799326 director).
The notice comes days after Matanzas set reference prices for eight basic products: cooking oil at 2,500 Cuban pesos (CUP) per liter in retail, cut chicken at 500 CUP per pound, rice at 300 CUP, beans at 350 CUP, eggs at 110 CUP each, powdered milk at 3,400 CUP per kilogram, sugar at 400 CUP per pound, and sausages at 900 CUP per kilogram.
These limits contrast with the reality of the informal market, where oil exceeded 4,000 CUP per liter in August 2026, double the official price.
The citizens' reaction in the comments on the official publication from the provincial government reflects skepticism and frustration regarding the measure.
"Now they don't want to sell either chicken or oil," wrote a citizen, describing the immediate effect of the controls: faced with the threat of sanctions, many merchants choose not to sell at all.
Another commentator was more direct: "Self-closing should also be a crime. There are many doing it."
The preventive closure in the presence of inspectors is a pattern that citizens themselves notice: "They don’t announce when they are going to inspect, because everyone knows when there are inspectors and they close," pointed out another user.
The skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the inspections also points to those behind the inspected businesses:
"With what moral will they demand from self-employed workers? We all know that the owners of wholesale SMEs are among the owners of Cuba, and no one is going to inspect them, and those prices are set high from there. Nobody buys high to sell low. Don't underestimate the intelligence of Cubans," wrote another citizen.
A user attached screenshots from an online store where five liters of sunflower oil are listed at 23.83 dollars, highlighting the gap between regulated prices in pesos and actual prices in foreign currency.
A citizen summarized the paradox with a question that remained unanswered in the official publication: "Is there already an official list from the government regarding the price ceilings?"
Matanzas is not the only province that has taken measures. Artemisa joined on August 13 with a resolution that sets a maximum profit margin of 30%, while Villa Clara established maximum prices on August 8, and Guantánamo did so on the fifth of that month.
The backdrop of this wave of provincial controls is the national government's decision to eliminate national price caps in June 2026 for products such as chicken, oil, powdered milk, pasta, and sausages, citing a relaxation of regulations in the private sector.
The consequence was an immediate escalation that the provincial governments are now trying to manage in a disorganized manner with uncertain results.
Related videos:
Filed under: