Richmeat Brings Dollarization to Havana’s Oldest Market
By Juan Diego Rodríguez / Olea Gallardo (14ymedio)
HAVANA TIMES – A new business has just joined the wave of dollarization in Havana—located not just anywhere, but in the city’s largest and oldest market, Cuatro Caminos in Centro Habana. It’s a butcher shop operated by the firm Richmeat, which signed an agreement three months ago with Cimex (part of the military conglomerate GAESA) to manage an entire complex of stores under the brand name La Favorita, the name of some of its products.
Just days after its opening, the shop looks pristine, clean, and perfectly air-conditioned. Blue and yellow balloons suggest the inauguration was recent. All employees greet customers with the same question: “Can I help you with anything?” [That might seem normal to many readers but in Cuba welcoming service is not the norm.]
The store offers a wide range of products—pork, deboned or seasoned chicken, ground meat under the house brand El Cocinerito, sausages, hamburgers—all in stark contrast to the MLC (devalued magnetic currency) section of the Plaza, which just a few years ago was well-stocked but now sits nearly empty.
As if to separate this new store from the old currency—gradually being phased out—they changed the entrance. Previously, it was accessed via a door near the MLC products; now it’s through Cuatro Caminos’ main façade. “For dollars, a red carpet,” an elderly man quipped outside the new butcher shop.
“There’s almost nothing here, but look over there, girl—it’s in dollars,” a guard told a customer at the MLC store. She didn’t mention, however, the poor quality of Richmeat’s products, which hasn’t stopped the company from becoming increasingly prosperous.
A new branch of La Favorita will soon open in a prime location—Havana’s Nautico shopping center, near the exclusive club of the same name in Playa municipality. That was supposed to be the first outlet under Richmeat’s agreement with Tiendas Caribe, according to government announcements, but the Cuatro Caminos store opened first, without explanation.
An employee confirmed to this newspaper that the plan to open that butcher shop in western Havana is still underway, and it will likely also operate in US dollars.
State media reported in March that the “first stage” of the agreement with Cimex would include not just the Playa store but three more. As the project advances, Cubadebate stated, “its expansion to other parts of the country is being planned.” They did not mention at the time, however, that the products would be sold in US dollars.
This was the second agreement of its kind signed by the state-run corporation under the Business Administration Group (GAESA), following one made with Vima for the Infanta and Santa Marta store in Centro Habana, which opened this past January.
That’s not the only similarity between the two brands. Just like the one founded by Spanish businessman Víctor Moro Suarez, Richmeat’s products are not well regarded by Cubans, even though they are often the only source of protein available amid chronic shortages. “That ground mincemeat is inedible,” is a frequent remark by consumers who receive 400 or 800-gram tubes sold under the El Cocinerito and La Favorita brands.
Another similarity with Vima: both companies are registered abroad—Richmeat in Mexico—but neither is known in its purported home country. It is in Cuba where they have prominence and receive all sorts of privileges.
Despite its legal registration in Mexico and the Mexican nationality of its president, Luis Alberto Gonzalez Hernandez, and vice president, Alejandra Chapela Diaz—both of whom attended the recent agreement signing with Tiendas Caribe—there’s no real evidence that Richmeat is a truly Mexican company and not a Cuban firm “disguised” as foreign.
As 14ymedio confirmed, Mexico’s main meat industry organizations do not have Richmeat on record—not the National Organization for Food Safety and Certification, the National Association of Federal Inspection Establishments (Anetif), nor the Mexican Meat Council.
Even more telling, the National Service of Health, Food Safety, and Quality (Senasica)—the Mexican body that issues the required animal health certificates for meat exports—has no record of Richmeat. “That must be because their products are processed directly in Cuba, meaning they don’t leave from Mexico,” said an official from the agency, who asked to remain anonymous.
This would explain the poor quality of the products. Mexican meat has a strong reputation, and the country is one of the world’s leading beef exporters. According to a well-placed source, Richmeat purchases its meat within the island, including from the CCS (Credit and Service Cooperative) Rigoberto Corcho in Artemisa.
If it is truly Cuban and not Mexican, that would explain its “constant presence for more than eight years,” a point the official press often highlights—“even during the most critical periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
What is clear are the privileges the company enjoys—often praised by the authorities, and now with a store in Havana’s largest market. These perks and the hefty profits Richmeat earns in Cuba suggest it is very likely controlled by the upper echelons of power in the country. And clearly, it is expanding.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
To what extent is unclear but it has long been known that CIMEX was wholly-owned by Fidel Castro. After his death, ownership of his islands (yes, plural) and his yachts, etc. became cloudy, but no one doubts someone related ((Castro surname) remains in control of Fidel’s assets. Forbes estimates Fidel Castro was easily a multi-billionaire at the time of his death. CIMEX is the owner of these dollar stores in Havana. Connecting the dots, it is easy to believe that as the Cuban economy continues to circle the drain, the Castro family and other intimates are stockpiling income for the inevitable collapse of the regime. No one should be surprised if the Castro grandchildren are being tutored in Russian these days.
I would be very wary of purchasing meat products from this organisation if you do not know the country of origin !!