Cubans and Tourists Without Bread Until the End of March
despite a donation of Russian wheat
Of the five mills on the Island, only one, the one in Cienfuegos, is operational
HAVANA TIMES – Once again, there is little bread in Cuba due to a lack of flour. The “complex situation,” as the official press defines it, will last until the end of March, according to Emerio Gonzalez Lorenzo, president of the Food Industry Business Group.
Although state media say that the “impact” on the rationed bread rolls began to “show” this Saturday, it is something that consumers have been experiencing daily for months, even in establishments aimed at tourism.
Similarly, the report on national television said that the last shipments of raw materials arrived at the end of January “and ensured the activity of mills and bakeries for most of February.” At no time does it mention that 25,000 tons of wheat donated by the Russian government that arrived in mid-January.
That amount exceeds the 20,000 tons that, authorities assured this Saturday, are necessary to cover the rationed daily bread rolls for a month. If this is the case, the shipment of Russian wheat should have been enough to supply the stores for the remainder of this month and the next.
The Government, as usual, blamed the situation on “financial restrictions mainly due to the intensified US embargo, [which they call a blockade] and the logistical limitations that Cuba suffers to bring wheat from distant markets.” However, following that, the president of the Food Industry himself said that of the five mills on the Island, only one, the one in Cienfuegos, is operational, and it cannot produce more than 250 tons per day, out of the 700 demanded for the rationed bread rolls.
The substitute products added to bread – such as cassava, squash, or rice – are not a solution either, as they only make up 15% of the total needed to make the bread rolls, according to official notes. And neither is buying bread from private vendors: although they claim that “the purchase of imported flour by non-state forms of management is being negotiated,” this contribution amounts to only 3,000 tons per month, and, as Gonzalez says, in any case, “the tons that arrive at the port will not cover the needs.”
It is not the first time that there has been a shortage of flour and, consequently, bread on the Island. At the end of last year, the regime justified this shortage by saying that the war between Russia and Ukraine had increased the cost of wheat imports, something that was denied by economists like Pedro Monreal. Based on data from the Business Insider website, the expert asserted that the price of cereal was at its lowest point since 2020.
Mike keep in mind that the bread at private bakeries is only for the third or so of the population that is lucky enough to have family or friends outside the country sending them money. That bread is not purchased by the State to meet its one bread roll a day obligation on the ration booklet. Likewise, Russia is using Cuban mercenaries, not a huge number albeit. Some, desperate to leave the island, have reportedly gone to Russia specifically for the offer and others were already there in dire straights.
So far, despite the “Official Reports” of yours, there are Bread Rolls out there n Cuba. The issue is that due Cuba’s Rampant Inflation, such bread, mainly produced by Private Bakeries, is expensive. Wheat flour is imported from various countries by Private entrepreneurs (PYMES), It mean that if there is continued importation, there will be bread.
The comments about Russia trying to enlist Cuba into the the Russian-Ukrainian War is a politically biased, crappy nonsense.
Russia is trying to enlist Cubans to fight in Ukraine. Better to sacrifice their lives than those for the fatherland. The food shortages may be a way for Russia to hurry up their plan.
Main principle is Cuba is under strict communist regime that put the country went back 50 years
Not only no bread but I was in Varadero for 10 days in Dec and we had bread twice at our resort, eggs only for one day powdered eggs the rest of the which was terrible.
No napkins we went from folded paper towels to three pieces of toilet paper on our table.
Ran out of coffee please tell me how you can run out coffee you grow it!!!!! Soft drinks were occasionally available, very little meat . I have been going to Cuba twice a year for over 30 years have never seen it like this not going back anytime too soon.
The shortage is because the country of Cuba is broke has no money for fuel to grow and process or transport food or to produce electricity. The current model can not continue the best and brighter people are leaving because it is impossible to support a family in cuba
It is better to live in a tent in Mexico or Canada and work than to live in cuba unless you have access to U S dollars. I understand the problem but a big change is needed
John West writes: “So the Cuban government told the truth.” Yes and No.
In Cuba bread comes to Cubans in two ways: one, via the “libretta”, that is, the majority of Cubans living in a permanent residence in Cuba are entitled to subsidized bread rolls on a daily basis. The number of bread rolls depends on the number of residents in the family residence.
Second, there are many prívate bakeries strewn across the country selling bread from inside a bakery, at roadsides, near parks, wherever the astute bakery owner knows bread will be sold and a profit made. They import flour with their own resources.
Now, the so called flour shortage. Yes, as the article states, and if we are to believe government propaganda, state owned bakeries lack flour for bread rolls intended for those Cubans receiving their daily quota. The flour shortage has arisen because of a variety of factors, the embargo “Blockade” is not one of them.
Those astute Cuban private bakery owners continue to sell their bread to those Cubans who can afford to purchase loafs on the street. Those Cubans receiving financial remittances from abroad continue eating bread while the majority of ordinary Cubans, not so lucky, do without.
Obviously, those Cubans without their daily bread rolls outnumber those fortunate few with the financial resources to eat bread; hence, a dilemma for the totalitarian government. The state’s propaganda machine in overdrive blames everything and everybody for the flour fiasco.
This whole bread fiasco is another example of how Cuban society is everyday shifting to the haves and the have nots that clearly contradicts the exact socialist principles the 1959 Revolution was suppose to eradicate.
In the final analysis the Cuban government, in fact any government anywhere when in trouble, does not tell the truth far from it but obfuscates the real story to placate the population.
The price of bread doubled in Europe last year, but more recently the price of wheat has dropped and the price of bread has fallen. So the Cuban government told the truth.
Flour from México is less than 3 days away by cargo ship. Even less from Jamaica, Dominican Republic, etc. from other nearby Caribbean countries. None of these other countries are lacking wheat flour for export. Don’t give me that BS that the US trade embargo has anything to do with this shortage as the embargo specifically excludes food and medicine. If the excuse is financial due to the embargo, then the answer is in Cuba’s priorities. During my last visit to theisland, I could not help but notice PNR foot patrols on nearly every third block in Central Havana. Really? What does that police presence costs. If the failed Castro dictatorship wasn’t so paranoid about political uprising, they could likely cut police costs in half. The truth is that because Cuban leadership suffers no shortage of bread, their concern is focused on staying in power. As a result, if there is no bread for everyday Cubans but Diaz-Canel keeps his job, so be it.