The Minister of Economy of Cuba, Alejandro Gil Fernández, announced this Thursday before the Parliament that the micro, small and medium enterprises (mipymes) reached some 166 million dollars in terms of imports in the first four months of the year.
When detailing the foreign trade operations carried out by non-state forms of management, Gil specified that the figure comes from a total of 270 million 294 thousand 100 dollars in imports, and in which 61.6% corresponds to MSMEs .
exposes @AlejandroGilFin an Extraordinary Session of the ANPP in its X Legislature, an update on the situation of the country’s economy.#Cuba, #Popular power #CubanEconomy pic.twitter.com/zH3n54Ka5G
— Ministry of Economy and Planning of Cuba (@MEP_CUBA) May 25, 2023
Regarding exports, the forms of management achieved the even higher figure of 4 million 788 thousand 500 dollars, the minister pointed out during the second Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP).
He said that in recent years there has been an increase, month after month, in the level of imports of these forms of management. Only in the last two months have they exceeded 80 million, a rate that aspires to exceed the figure of more than 100 million in the course of the year, Gil said, quoted by official media.
According to the head of Economy, there is a trend towards importing final goods and not inputs and raw materials.
correct distortions
He drew attention, however, to these imported goods ready for sale to the population, often at high prices.
“This is a matter that we must deepen, because although it is true that it is approved that the new forms of management can import for their production, in recent months there has been a trend towards imports for direct marketing,” he emphasized.
The non-state sector, he added, must contribute to the development of the country’s economy and current distortions must be corrected.
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To date, there are 7,880 MSMEs operating within the Cuban business system, as of its implementation since September 2021, as part of the update of the prevailing economic model for more than six decades, points out a report by efe.
Although they can engage in a wide range of activities, they are not authorized to do so in areas considered strategic by the government, such as health, telecommunications, defense, and the media.
285 state companies with losses
Alejandro Gil also addressed other issues regarding the country’s economic situation, such as the “insufficient” sale of foreign currency to the population, which has remained at the same levels of up to 100 dollars per purchase; and about the behavior of state companies, he said that 285 of them have losses.
In addition, he addressed speculation in the prices of products, particularly food, in line with a decrease in the production levels of root vegetables, vegetables, eggs, milk, rice, and beans.
