Prices continue to rise in Cuba and the accumulated inflation is already nearing 25% in the first nine months of 2026, a surge that keeps increasing the cost of food and diminishing the purchasing power of Cuban families.
The National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) reported this Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered in September a monthly variation of 3.37%, an accumulated inflation of 24.85%, and a year-on-year increase of 28.44%.
The data, corresponding to the official CPI bulletin for September 2026, show that the rise in the cost of goods and services continues to particularly affect essential products.
The accumulated figure of 24.85% means that, on average, the prices of the basket of goods and services used to calculate the index have increased by almost a quarter compared to December 2025. Meanwhile, the year-on-year figure of 28.44% reflects the difference between September of this year and the same month in 2025.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages have once again become the main driver of inflation. According to ONEI, this category accounted for 73.39% of the monthly variation in the general index.
Restaurants and hotels followed, contributing 11.34%, along with alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which accounted for 6.70%.
This means that nearly three-quarters of the overall increase recorded in September was associated with food and non-alcoholic beverages, specifically one of the consumption groups that most directly impact household budgets.
Among the selected products that experienced the highest price increases during the month were powdered soft drink, with 17.73%; sausages and hot dogs, with 11.72%; and pork, with 10.69%.
The statistical office also identified pork, hen's eggs, and ham among the items that most contributed to the monthly increase within the category of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The new records show that inflation continued in September, although the monthly increase was smaller than in August, when prices rose by 4.92%, according to official statistics.
However, the year-on-year inflation increased from 25.19% in August to 28.44% in September, indicating a greater rise in the cost of goods and services compared to the same period last year.
The trend had already raised concerns among Cuban economists. At the end of September, a report from the Center for Cuban Economic Studies (CEEC), at the University of Havana, warned about the accelerating inflation and pointed out that the sustained increase in prices constituted one of the most serious problems of the national economy.
Months earlier, in July, the Cuban economist Elías Amor Bravo had already warned that inflation was out of control due to the inaction of the authorities.
His analysis of the statistics for the first half of the year showed a cumulative increase of 12.24% through June and a year-on-year rate of 18.27%.
Amor argued that the authorities were not implementing the necessary economic policies to stop the rising cost of living.
It was also warned that, if that trend continues, inflation could reach between 40% and 50% by the end of 2026, a projection by the economist and not an official forecast from ONEI.
The rise in prices contrasts with the statements made by the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel regarding the state of the Cuban economy.
In September, during a meeting with over 30 executives from state-owned enterprises, Díaz-Canel reaffirmed his confidence in the socialist state enterprise system and assured that economic transformations would enable the country to overcome its challenges.
"We are going to transform ourselves and we will move forward," stated the president, as food prices continued to consume an increasingly larger share of household income.
However, that is neither the reality nor the "confidence" perceived by the population. In August, a Cuban mother from Alquízar, Artemisa, reported that oil cost 6,000 pesos, eggs reached 4,500 pesos per pack, and a pound of meat was sold for 800 pesos.
"We are going to eat grass," the woman then expressed to illustrate the difficulties her family faced due to the cost of basic goods.
In September, another Cuban showcased on social media a purchase of food and other essential items that cost her around 8,750 pesos, an amount more than double the current monthly minimum wage.
In July of this year, the official year-on-year inflation rate stood at 20.70%, with a cumulative increase of 15.12% since January. Two months later, the cumulative variation reaches 24.85% and the year-on-year rate exceeds 28%.
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