Cuban Government Announces Reduction in Food Prices

The Cuban government announced a reduction in the price of food products as part of the short term measures to gradually increase the purchasing power of the peso.

The announcement from the Ministry of Finance and Prices indicated the reduction in prices, effective as of April 22. The reduction in the cost of food will be approximately 20 percent in food store chains selling in hard currency and the parallel market of the Ministry of Domestic Commerce (Mincin in Spanish) for mainly food products.

The cost of imported rice, for example, was previously sold at 5.00 Cuban Pesos (CUP) per pound, and is now reduced to 4.00 CUP. Rice grown in Cuba will be reduced from 3.50 to 3.00 pesos. Peas sold will be reduced by  50 centavos to 3.00 CUP per pound.

Large boxes of frozen chicken will be reduced by 6%, applying a single method of price formation for the chains of hard currency grocery stores and the Mincin parallel market stores, which represent a cut of six percent in total prices, the announcement added.

The government notice on the cuts to food prices are in response to the political direction of the Communist party and Government leadership to do everything possible to improve the situation of people amid present limitations, as well as the decline in food prices in the globally.

The list of products whose prices have been slashed include some 70 items, among them cooking oil, chicken and giblets, turkey, hashed beef, crackers, chocolates and other sweets, seasonings and instant drinks.

NEWS SOURCE