14ymedio, Madrid, 8 December 2023 — A kilo of American chicken reached its highest price in the last five years in October, with a value of $1.30. The high price may be the cause of a new collapse in imports of the poultry meat that Cuba buys from the neighboring country, which fell to figures never seen since June 2020, in the midst of the pandemic.
Havana bought 8,126.5 tons of chicken meat, 32% less than the previous month , when imports had already fallen enormously. In September, 11,954 tons were acquired, which represented 66% less than in August, with 35,117 tons. That is, in just two months, the purchase of chicken from the United States has fallen by 76.8%.
The decrease in the volume of imports is also reflected in the amount, although the sharp rise in price attenuates the difference. Cuba spent 26.5% less compared to the month of September, a total of 10.63 million dollars compared to 14.4 million dollars the previous month. That month, the price of a kilo of chicken had already increased considerably, going from $1.05 in August to $1.21.
“The food security crisis worsens due to ineffective economic policies,” says Cuban economist Pedro Monreal, who analyzes these data monthly. “With chicken being the main meat source of protein in Cuba, the recent problems are worse than those that the official story seems to recognize,” he added on his social networks.
