Crisis in Cuba: The regime admits that there will be a shortage of flour for bread in the basic basket

The Cuban regime recognized that it could not guarantee subsidized bread from the basic basket until the end of March. Due to shortage of wheat flourReported this Sunday by the official media.

The Ministry of Food Industries (Ministry of Food Industry) said that the reason is the shortage of bread offered through ration cards “CERTAIN CONDITIONS” WITH “INTENDED SHIPMENT”Without giving more details about it.

The island imports about 80% of the products it consumes. And in recent years it has struck deals with allies like Russia to guarantee access to wheat flour to make good bread, a staple in the Cuban diet.

“In the coming days, due to volatility in the supply of raw materials, bread production in all regions will be severely affected,” explained the commercial director of a state-owned milling company. Zaili Perez HernandezCited by the official Cubadebate site.

He added that Cuba’s food industry is not immune to the consequences of the United States economic embargo and that the arrival of ships is “more complicated.”

The Caribbean country has five mills for processing wheat: three in Havana, one in Santiago de Cuba (east) and another in Cienfuegos (southeast). Right now The latter is the only one active and produces only 250 tons of flour per day.

According to CubaDebate, Cuba needs 20,000 tons monthly to make bread for a regulated family basket.

President, Food Industry Business Group, IMERIO GONZALEZ LORENZOHe added that the ministry is exploring options with other state agencies and private small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

According to UN data, Cuba spends about $2 billion a year importing the food it consumes.

The basic basket is a subsidized food package tailored to every Cuban through a ration card.

The crisis with bread distribution coincides with the return of blackouts due to fuel shortages in the past two months.

Cuba suffers from severe shortages of food and medicine, as well as frequent power outages, rampant inflation, and partial dollarization of the economy.

This situation is due to the confluence of the pandemic, US sanctions and mistakes in economic and monetary policy.

Cuban state company Union Electrica (UNE) has estimated About 32% of the island is in simultaneous blackout for this Sunday During the afternoon-night hours, the peak consumption time, the trend towards higher impact rates is mainly attributed to fuel deficits.

The country’s energy situation remained favorable at the end of last year, but service cuts have increased in 2024. As of late January, the damage is between 20 and more than 30% of the territory.

According to UNE, The main reasons respond to the “unavailability” of fuel and breakdowns in some terrestrial thermoelectric plants.

In its daily report, the Ministry of Energy and Mines Company calculates for this day’s ‘peak’ time, an electricity generation capacity of 1,945 megawatts (MW) and a maximum demand of 2,800 MW.

(with information from EFE)