The Cuban government allowed more payments to farmers who harvest potatoes and deliver them to the state.
A new resolution of the Ministry of Agriculture, published in the Official Gazette, maintains the retail price of the above tubers at $11.00 CUP for each pound.
These are the new payment rates to farmers for each quintal of potatoes delivered to Acopio.
Potatoes harvested with national seeds will be paid at $1,204 CUP per quintal ($26,175 CUP per ton). Meanwhile, growing with imported seeds will cost $839.00 CUP per quintal ($18,240 CUP per ton).
According to official information from the Ministry of Agriculture, the reason for this increase is the increase in the prices of basic inputs for potato production.
The text adds that “the state cannot afford to create losses or subsidize producers.”
Hence, it empowers the ministry in question to change the prices at which Acopio buys food from farmers.
The resolution affirms that “the margin for wholesale marketing of potatoes shall be shared by mutual agreement between the parties.”
Predictions for 2024
In the middle of the week, an agricultural website in Cuba recalled the current potato harvest forecast.
The target is to plant 5,260 hectares of tubers to get an estimated production of 107,014 tonnes. Out of the estimated hectares, 900 will have national seeds and the rest will have imported seeds.
“The total yield in the country for the last 5 campaigns is more than 21.53 tonnes per hectare.
All origins and production destinations of the seeds to be planted here are taken into consideration,” declared the agriculture experts. According to the text, in 40 years, since 1983, 11,964 hectares of potatoes have been planted in Cuba.
