The Coffee Processing Company Eladio Machín, based in Cienfuegos, announced that it will pay in foreign currency to the growers during the current coffee harvesting season, although it has not specified the currency to be used, the amounts that workers will receive, nor when the payments will begin.
The information was released by the provincial newspaper 5 de Septiembre, in a report that includes statements from Omar Bermúdez Sánchez, the general director of the company.
The payment will be in foreign currency to the growers for their benefit and to improve their working conditions, stated the executive.
The company also did not specify whether the payments will be made in cash or through bank transfers, whether they will be in addition to the regular income of the harvesters, or what requirements the workers must meet to receive them.
A coffee sale contracted in Mariel
Bermúdez also reported that the processing company has secured a sale in the Special Development Zone of Mariel, an operation that, according to his statements, will benefit the economy of the Cienfuegos entity.
The official mentioned that hiring alongside the announcement of payments in foreign currency but did not provide details about the final destination or buyer of the production.
The coffee harvest has already begun in Cienfuegos, where work is being done with the robusta and Arabica varieties.
According to the director of the Eladio Machín Coffee Processing Company, the operation of three pulpers: Cuatro Vientos, San Blas, and El Nicho is planned during the campaign.
The Cuatro Vientos facility will receive the grain delivered by the Young Workers’ Army (EJT), while the other two will also participate in the processing.
The executive specified that the coffee collection in the fields will take place twice a week, as part of the organization planned for the campaign.
Bermúdez also mentioned the work carried out in the plantations over the previous months, which, in his assessment, helped maintain favorable conditions for harvesting.
Among the activities aimed at improving coffee plantations, the work of the seed farm of farmer Jesús Chaviano, located in Mayarí stood out.
The official attributed the difficulties in the coffee sector to the U.S. embargo and stated that these restrictions affect access to certain agricultural supplies.
"It is impossible to acquire supplies such as herbicides, pesticides, and tools," he asserted.
The processor also maintains commercial activities in Cumanayagua, where the Casa Luis Gómez operates, dedicated to the sale of prepared coffee and ground coffee, both pure and blended, as Bermúdez explained.
The news of the announcement regarding payments in foreign currency to farmers comes at a time of expanding economic operations in foreign currency within Cuba.
In this regard, on September 10, new regulations were published for the management and retention of income in foreign currency by economic actors, through Resolution 103/2026 from the Ministry of Economy and Planning.
The regulation includes, among other operations, income from sales to the Special Development Zone of Mariel and establishes different retention conditions based on the type of entity and the source of the resources.
Additionally, the new Cuban Labor Code establishes that payment of wages in Cuban pesos is the general rule, although the regulations also provide for certain income and bonuses in foreign currency under specific conditions.
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