A retired healthcare worker in Las Tunas sparked outrage on social media by reporting that the price of eggs in her locality has reached 135 Cuban pesos (CUP) each, making a carton of 30 units cost over 4,000 CUP —almost the equivalent of a full monthly pension.
The complaint was made by the resident of tunera, Lili Romero, in a reel posted on Facebook that quickly resonated among Cubans from various provinces. "Well, my people, this is another test. When they used to give one of those little eggs, which cost up to 15 cents, thanks to that pesky little booklet [the ration book], the average Cuban would get a taste of eggs. Now, this little egg you see here costs at least 135 pesos in this town where I live," the woman stated, a resident of the municipality of Manatí, according to her profile on the social network.
What makes her complaint even more eloquent is the comparison with her own income. "Do you know how much my little paycheck is? It's 4,478 pesos, as a health professional with over 30 years of work in that system. So now I want you to tell me where the rear end of the chickens that laid this expensive egg came from," she questioned indignantly.
The situation in Las Tunas is not an isolated case. In the comments of the video, Cubans from other provinces confirmed similar or even higher prices: in Bayamo, a user reported eggs at 200 CUP each and oil at 6,000 CUP; in Holguín, other users pointed out prices ranging from 200 to 300 pesos per unit. In light of this reality, a user summarized the collective sentiment: "It's an insult, a mockery, a disrespect to the people; in short, it's UTOPIA."
Another person who responded to the video expressed it with bitterness: "Nothing, my friend... a whole life working and not even having the right to eat an egg... not even if it were from the golden hen."
The collapse of egg prices as an accessible food source has structural roots. The Cuban poultry production has collapsed steadily over decades: the island went from producing between four and five million eggs daily to just 1,200,000, as admitted in October 2024 by then Minister of Agriculture Ydael Pérez Brito. To compensate for the deficit, the regime has imported millions of eggs each month from various countries, primarily aimed at sustaining minimal social programs.
Faced with uncontrolled price increases, some local authorities attempted to intervene. Villa Clara set a maximum price of 110 CUP per unit on August 7, and Songo-La Maya established the same benchmark price a few days later. However, Cuban economists criticized these price caps, warning that instead of reducing the cost of the product, they aggravate the shortage by discouraging supply.
The contrast between the current and historical prices illustrates the magnitude of the collapse. In Bayamo, a carton of eggs has reached 4,000 pesos since last June. Meanwhile, the purchasing power of Cubans bears no relation to these prices. The official minimum pension is 4,000 CUP monthly —equivalent to less than seven dollars at the informal exchange rate— and the minimum wage in the budgetary sector rose to 3,210 CUP in July 2026, about five dollars. Independent estimates calculate that a person needs around 96,000 CUP per month to cover basic needs, a gap that makes eggs —and almost any food— an item beyond the reach of most.
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