Cuba says no fast repair as financial crisis drags on

HAVANA, May perhaps 25 (Reuters) – There is no fast repair for Cuba’s sputtering economy, its economy minister stated on Thursday, as inflation, fuel shortages, plunging farm production and a money crunch drag on output and continue to fan discontent in the communist-run island nation.

Economy Minister Alejandro Gil, in an hour-extended presentation just before newly elected lawmakers, stated there was also small foreign currency on the island to spend for coveted fuel, meals and farm imports, which means Cuba would increasingly scrape by with what it can make at house.

“If we can´t make it, we won´t have it,” Gil told lawmakers, referring particularly to some meals solutions and urging legislators and municipalities to place renewed impetus on farm output this year and subsequent.

A serious financial crisis in Cuba, amongst the worst due to the fact Fidel Castro´s 1959 revolution, has led to shortages of meals, fuel and medicine and contributed to a record-breaking exodus of migrants north to the United States.

Tourism, as soon as a crucial driver of a lot-required foreign exchange, has struggled to revive, with visitor numbers amongst January and April this year at only half that of the exact same period in 2019, Gil stated.

That has left the nation quick of the foreign currency vital to import vital farming necessities like fertilizer and animal feed.

The production of pork for the state, for instance, plunged from a record 199.7 tonnes in 2017 to just 16 tonnes in 2022, Gil stated, as inputs dried up. A lot of fruits and vegetables have fared equally poorly, he stated.

Fuel that may well otherwise assistance bolster farm production and provide goods to industry has been re-routed to electrical energy generation, Gil stated. Cuba employed practically twice as a lot diesel as planned to make electrical energy in the initial 4 months of 2023, the economy minister added.

Soaring meals rates, due to inefficiencies and dwindling production, have far outpaced the obtaining energy of most Cubans, Gil stated, leaving numerous with salaries quick of covering their “standard requires.”

Cuba blames a Cold War-era U.S. trade embargo for a lot of its woes, even though prime officials have increasingly referred to as on Cubans to obtain new approaches to overcome the sanctions.

Reporting by Dave Sherwood
Editing by Bill Berkrot

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