According to official data, 55% of retail sales on the island for 2024 came from the non -state sector.
Miami, United States. – For the first time since the first years after the arrival of Fidel Castro to power, in 1959, the private sector in Cuba has surpassed the state regarding the total value of retail sales of goods and services, according to preliminary figures published last week by the state national office of statistics (ONEI).
According to the official report, the “non -state” sector was responsible for 55% of retail sales in 2024, a notable increase compared to 44% registered in 2023. The figures, however, exclude public services.
This change represents a milestone in the island’s economic system, governed by a communist regime for more than six decades, and reflects a structural transformation sustained since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which forced the Cuban government to timidly allow private activity.
Along with the growth of the private sector, the state economy has been contracting: in the last five years, has suffered a 11% reductionaccompanied by frequent blackouts, product shortage and high inflation.
Although the State continues to operate thousands of retail establishments that sell a limited range of products – food, hygiene items and clothing, mainly – these fail to meet the population’s demand.
“There are many things that cannot be found in the state sector,” said Diamela García, a clothing seller at the 100th Bridge Fair in Havana, to the Reuters news agency. “Many people come to look for those things here,” he added.
Cuban economist Omar Everleny warned that the predominance of the private sector in official figures is due, to a large extent, to the value of the products and not necessarily the volume of sales. “Prices are subsidized in the state sector and are much higher in the private sector,” he explained. “[Pero] The State has little money to import goods … so people have to go to the private sector, which is more flexible. ”
Who does not want broth …
While Fidel Castro historically described the private initiative as a “concession to the enemy”, his brother and successor, Raúl Castro, adopted a more pragmatic position when considering it “strategic” and integral part of the national economy.
According to most local analysts, including Everleny, within Cuban leadership there is a debate between those who defend greater liberalization of the economy and those who oppose it.
During an appearance this month before the National Assembly, the Minister of Economy, Joaquín Alonso, acknowledged that state imports have decreased, while those of private companies exceeded one billion dollars, which represents an increase of 34% with respect to the same period of the previous year.
Alonso also indicated that a lower number of state companies currently operate in red numbers, although he clarified that this is “mainly to an increase in prices and not to an improvement in efficiency,” according to reports published in the official media.
The minister admitted that “non -state economic actors are moving forward” and added: “We do not want to confront with this sector, but to channel it properly.”
According to official figures, about 1.6 million people, in a total workforce of 4 million, currently work in the private sector in Cuba.
