The official press recognizes the collapse of honey production throughout the country
14ymedio, Havana, 8 May 2024 — “That the honey from the Cuban hives continues to conquer the European market,” is the closing aspiration of an article in the official press this Tuesday. The desire corresponds to reality: the Island exports every year between 80% and 90% of the honey it produces, accessible in markets in Europe and Latin America, while in the country it can only be obtained “on the left” (in the informal market) and by negotiating directly with the producers.
Production, however, is plummeting. Taking care not to offer concrete data, the official press has given indications of the collapse throughout the country and underlines the State’s discontent with beekeepers. The workers of the Occidente Honey Benefit Plant, located in Caimito (Artemisa), which processes the honey of Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque and Matanzas, are well aware of it.
Shut down since March 2023, it was not until last December that the factory went into operation, thanks to an unspecified investment that rebuilt part of its structure. “The floor of the technology area had to be dismantled, and the corresponding import was delayed. The roof was also waterproofed, to avoid leaks and moisture, incompatible with the honey process. For that reason, production was stopped, the average salary fell, and we lost valuable specialists and technicians,” Rigoberto Velázquez, director of the industry, told the newspaper El Artemiseño.
Compared to the current situation, in which the average monthly salary for the workers of the plant is 8,333 pesos, the figure of 2023 was poor: barely 2,700 pesos. The increase, the manage
