Despite the penalties imposed by the United States on those who trade fuels with Cuba, a Chinese company called Fujian Trebor Trading Company –which presents itself on the Internet as a wholesale distributor of footwear– is introducing and marketing gasoline paid in dollars for MSMEs, in batches of up to 25,000 liters.
Fuel is sold at $2.50 per liter if the buyer delivers an empty isotank, and at $3.45 per liter if the buyer also purchases the tank. The importer ensures delivery 21 days after receipt of payment.
Contacted to request details about the operation, several MSMEs confirm that the procedures must be carried out through the importer Quimimport, a state company dedicated to the purchase of chemical products, where interested parties must “qualify themselves as clients” and wait for the corresponding “commercial proposal.”
One of the companies sent this newspaper the requirements for the purchase of diesel and the approval of the import request: in order to receive the fuel, the client must present a Microlocation Certificate issued by Physical Planning, which includes the exact coordinates of the place where the tank will be located; a certification from the APCI (Fire Protection Agency) of the Fire Brigade of the Fire Department; the tank capacity and standardization certificate issued by Metrology, in cases where the tank is rented to a state company; a statement from the company stating that the fuel will be for own use; and the Tank Contract (the corresponding agreement or lease, cooperation or storage agreement) when the tank belongs to a state entity.
Fuel is sold at $2.50 per liter if the buyer delivers an empty isotank, and at $3.45 per liter if the buyer also purchases the tank.
As published by the EFE agency This Thursday, which confirms that there are several private MSMEs that have already begun to import fuel, the Government has held meetings in recent days with foreign businessmen based in the country and with local entrepreneurs to explain the mechanism of these operations.
The fuel, explains the Spanish agency, is transported in stainless steel tanks of standardized dimensions on board cargo ships. EFE sources indicated that the shipments come from both the United States and other countries in the region.
On February 7, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, explained, when presenting the savings plan in the face of the so-called oil blockade, which the Government was enabling and authorizing any company with purchasing capacity to purchase fuel.
The Cuban authorities insisted that fuel imported by individuals can only be used for their own consumption and that its commercialization is prohibited. This suggests that these operations would end up mainly favoring businesses linked to the State (such as their online sales platforms) and not the population.
