Green, clean, plump pears were offered this Monday by a store in freely convertible currency (MLC), the Galerias Paseo de El Vedado in Havana, at 0.90 cents on the dollar. The face of a client when she saw the origin of the fruit on the stamps was a poem: “American pears in Havana?” They’re very good”.
The woman, about 50 years old, born with the US embargo on the island, continued with her doubts: “But does the blockade let this matter?”
The pears for sale were the Anjou variety, grown in Oregon and Washington and marketed by the company CMI Orchards, based in the latter northwestern state.
Despite its high price, the client did not resist, and took five units. “I hope they’re worth it for how expensive they are,” he sighed as he walked away with his full crate.
Both the Government and the official media wield the blocking of the United States as an explanation for all the economic ills of the Island, without ever mentioning that it can import from the north country both food and medicine, as long as they are paid in cash. The US is, in fact, the first importer of chickens to Cuba.
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