Cuban government increases the price of potatoes amid chaotic food situation in the country

According to the official newspaper La Habana Tribune, Resolution 34 of the Extraordinary Gazette No. 16 of February 17, 2022 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices, updated the collection price (purchase from the producer) and retail sale price of potatoes.

According to the state press, the product will rise in price due to the "increase in the cost of agricultural inputs purchased to achieve the harvest, costs that must be assumed by producers, as well as the additional costs of employing workers."

From now on, fresh potatoes, which previously cost 3.00 Cuban pesos, will be sold for five pesos, and preserved potatoes from the refrigerator will be sold at 6.00 pesos per pound.

"Potatoes are a demanding crop that, in order to achieve adequate yields, requires the application of imported fertilizers and pesticides, so its production is carried out under complex conditions, given the global crisis caused by COVID-19 and the intensification of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on our country by the US government, which increases the cost of import and freight operations," he said. La Habana Tribune in an attempt to justify the rise in the price of the tuber.

The price of potatoes and other products has tripled or quadrupled since the so-called Ordering Task was launched on January 1, 2021. Before this monetary unification policy came into effect, the population could buy the tuber at one peso per pound.

The super inflation caused by the Ordering Task, in a context of pandemic, and the poor management of the regime, has resulted in an unprecedented food crisis in the Caribbean country, classified by many as much worse than the so-called special period of the 90s of the last century, the result of the collapse of the socialist camp and Cuba’s dependence on the USSR.