A Facebook post by the Cuban Richard Sori that satirizes the price of rice on the island sparked a wave of comments from citizens across various provinces, who report even higher prices than those mentioned in the original post and express a despair that no longer asks when the situation will improve, but rather how much worse it will get.
Sori recalled with a touch of bitter humor that a pound of rice once cost 3.50 pesos and today hovers around 400 Cuban pesos (CUP). "The saddest part is that rice is neither a luxury, nor a whim, nor a product to show off on social media. It is a staple on the daily table of millions of Cubans," he wrote.
However, Cubans made it clear that 400 CUP is, in many places, the lowest price. From Matanzas, they responded: "400 pesos? In Matanzas, it's 500." In Caibarién, Villa Clara, a user reported the pound at 480 and 500 CUP, with beans at 750. From the Havana municipality of 10 de Octubre, another person noted: "You underestimated it; around here it's 450 and 460."
The highest prices came from the eastern part of the country. In Holguín, one user wrote: "Here it's already at 1,150 for a small bag." From Camagüey, another commented that in La Caridad, a kilogram reaches 1,100 CUP. In Cárdenas, someone warned that the price was 500 CUP "until yesterday. Today I don't know if it went up because everything rises daily here."
"Sadly, no one cares about anything; it's every person for themselves here. God knows how many people haven't been able to afford it for a while, and just as many are heading in that direction. It's a complete disgrace," wrote one user. Another was more direct: "I bought 440 today to eat, and nothing; it will keep rising without anyone caring whether we can afford it or not. It's every person for themselves, plain and simple."
The regime has lifted the price cap on rice through Decree 156/2026, signed by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz on June 29 and published in the Official Gazette on July 16. This regulation removed the cap of 155 CUP per pound that had been in effect since March 2025, without establishing any clear substitute limit.
The so-called neighborhood markets, presented by the government as a solution to lower prices, have not resulted in noticeable reductions, as acknowledged by the Ministry of Internal Trade itself in October. The actual discounts ranged between 7% and 12%, far below the 15% to 30% that was promised.
The monthly minimum wage is 3,210 CUP and the effective minimum pension is around 3,056 CUP. A user summarized it in three words: "Imagine being retired with 3,200 pesos." Buying just five pounds of rice at 480 CUP consumes nearly 75% of that salary, without including any other food. In light of this reality, many families have started to substitute rice with cassava, sweet potato, plantain, malanga, and pumpkin, not by choice but out of necessity.
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