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2:26
60th anniversary of the US blockade and Cuba runs out of milk
Another of the products that adds to the widespread scarcity that the island is experiencing
In this country, despite standing in long queues, the population does not get powdered milk for their youngest children, something unprecedented even for these citizens accustomed to deprivation.
In order to reach the Cuban table, this dairy product had to avoid the US blockade, a long journey through many countries, and save itself from the distortions of the island's economy.
Claudia Coronado, mother of two small children, says that she had never lacked her children's milk, which does not make her understand what is currently happening. She assures that they are used to not having chicken, since it takes up to a month to arrive, but the milk was untouchable.
Milk imports
The Minister of Internal Trade Betsy Díaz, anticipated in October of last year, the limitation of powdered milk in the country's capital and four other provinces, due to the lack of availability of financing from suppliers and ships.
According to the specialized Trade Map application, the problem largely has to do with the fact that the milk consumed on the island comes from countries such as New Zealand, which in 2020 exported approximately 18,470 tons, followed by Belgium with 6,628 and Uruguay with 3,695..
Official figures assure that Cuba in 2020 produced 455,000 tons, but this is considered too little production for the entire population ( 11.2 million inhabitants ). This is the opinion of the Secretary General of the Pan American Dairy Federation, based in Montevideo, Ariel Londinsky.
For Havana it would be cheaper to import this food from one of the largest exporters in the world and very close to its coasts, such as the United States.
In 2000, the Congress of this country approved the export of food to the island, with the condition that they be paid in advance, without financing and in cash.
But due to the same situation that Cuba is going through, without access to credit from international financial organizations, with little foreign exchange and undercapitalized, it is difficult to meet these conditions.
Domingo Díaz, a 79-year-old peasant who lives in the province of Mayaque, assures that the embargo is more than 90% to blame, but he also recriminates his government.
Economists assure that there is a combination of factors, in addition to the blockade, such as the deficiency of the Cuban system itself, which, with the most recent economic reforms, has influenced the depreciation of the peso, the increase in prices and, in part, the dollarization of the economy.
