The Government reversed this Friday the measure taken last week to eliminate the rationed sale of chicken to Cubans over 14 years of age, who would have to make do with mincemeat and mortadella. The change coincides with the arrival at the port of Havana of a container of chicken, whose arrival was verified 14ymedio.
in a brief note, the Ministry of Domestic Trade reported that the commercialization of the chicken from the regulated family basket began this Friday in Camagüey, while the distribution in the other provinces will depend on the future availability of the food. The institution explained that children up to the age of 13 will receive one and a half pounds of meat and, from the age of 14, they will only be entitled to one pound.
The websites that monitor the international maritime movement, recorded the arrival this Friday in Havana of the ship Orange Spiritflying the Bahamas flag, from New Orleans, United States.
Given the fall in chicken imports from the US, the Cuban authorities acknowledged last week that they did not have enough food for national distribution and they excluded those over 13 years of age from deliveries, with the exception of people with medical diets.
Chicken imports from the United States fell in March for the second consecutive monthwhen Cuba spent 17,830,000 dollars for 18,280 tons purchased, while in February it had bought 23,014 tons for 23,500,000 dollars.
The institution explained that children up to the age of 13 will receive one and a half pounds of meat and, from the age of 14, they will be entitled to only one pound.
Cuba imports chicken meat from the United States, Brazil, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands, although the supply from these last two countries is unstable, with months in which not even a kilogram enters. Purchases from Brazil also plummeted 68.1% between February and March, going from 3,565 to 1,137 tons, although they recorded a more significant drop in January, with just 975.5 tons.
The Cuban economist Pedro Monreal pointed out that the island was unable to take advantage of the lower price of American chicken in March that month, which he attributed to the insufficient foreign currency on the part of the Government. The US sold a kilogram of meat at an average of 0.97 dollars, five cents less than the 1.02 it cost last February.
The price of chicken meat shot up in the second half of 2022 due to the increase in the cost of feed for poultry, mainly corn, wheat and feed. This led to the fact that the kilogram imported to Cuba reached its highest ceiling in October, 1.29 dollars, but later showed a decrease to 0.93 in January of this year.
In recent weeks, the availability of food on store shelves has also been affected by the fuel crisis, which the country has suffered since April. The General Director of Merchandise Sales of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Francisco Silva, assuredinterviewed by the official press, that priority will be given to the distribution of food corresponding to May, available in the warehouses from April 29.
The absence of chicken, pork, beef and fish is increasingly notorious on the table of Cuban families, despite the fact that these foods are rich in protein and a source of energy for the development of the human being.
In Matanzas, the diets of malnourished and underweight children, as well as pregnant women, are covered with quail eggs instead of chicken ones. Boris Tiel Carraveo, director of the province’s Poultry Company, assured the official press that the meat is also sold in the “final decrepitude” phase of the bird.
The farms produce nine million units daily, whose main destination is social consumption and for new offspring. The official assured that the plan includes obtaining eight million eggs in 2023, of which until April they have 2.4 million.
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