MÉRIDA, Mexico.- This December 24, the eve of the Christmasfew Cubans will be able to enjoy a dinner with traditional dishes that exceed the salary perceptions of the population.
To buy pork, rice, beans, salad and ingredients to make a dessert, about four basic salaries would be required in Cuba (2,100 Cuban pesos per month), according to the analysis published by the independent organization Food Monitor Program (FMP).
He calculation carried out by the organization showed that for a family of four people, about 8,200 Cuban pesos are needed, which represents just under two average salaries, or almost four times a basic salary in Cuba.
The analysis Based on the markets reviewed between Havana and Cienfuegos, they estimated that for a dinner you would have to pay 300 CUP for a pound of rice; 500 for one of beans; 50 pesos per head of garlic; 600, for a bunch of onions; 500 for a pound of tomatoes. For a bunch of lettuce, 200 pesos would be required and 600 for a pound of oil. For a pound of pork you would need at least 1,000 pesos and for a hand of donkey banana, 200.
The cost increases if you add some dessert at dinner, since a nougat costs 700 pesos; a fruit bomb, 400 and each egg for a flan recipe costs 100 pesos; a pound of powdered milk, 900 CUP and a pound of white sugar, 350. To toast you would have to pay 1,800 CUP for a bottle of red wine or cider.
“In perspective: 800,000 retirees, depending on a minimum pension of $1,528 pesos, can buy (for an entire month) just one pound of two or three of the aforementioned products,” the site revealed.
The pork It has reached a higher price than it was in December 2023, when Cubans paid between 500 and 600 pesos (CUP) per pound of meat.
This product, one of the most defendants At this time, because it is the main ingredient in the dishes that Cubans prepare for Christmas celebrations, it is now sold at approximately 1,000 pesos per pound but exceeds that amount in many markets.
Boneless pork leg, packages of boneless pork chops and boxes of chops reach exorbitant prices in the market informal and also in online stores such as Supermarket23 and Katapulk.
Prices vary depending on the provinces and the market where they can get the meat, since pork is scarce in state markets.
A analysis of its value, carried out by the independent medium theTOUCH Based on data obtained through daily observation in a group of nearly 40 formal market establishments, distributed in 11 municipalities of Havana, it yielded chilling results.
Pork steak sells for at least 1,400 pesos; smoked loin with bone, at 1,100 pesos; the smoked boneless loin, at 1,134 and the boneless leg, at 919 pesos per pound.
One question arises: Will families be able to eat this Christmas?
