Coffee in eastern provinces: production begins, but delays are not pickt up
HAVANA, Oct 13 The Reynerio Almaguer Paz Coffee Roasting Plant, located in Holguín, began to produce coffee destined for the basic basket that will be sold this October in the territory and in the neighboring provinces of Granma and Las Tunas. It was stopped for four months due to grain shortages.
The processing began on September 30, according to the director of that industry, Rider Sánchez, who told the Cuban News Agency (Acn), that before October 25 the envelopes with this product would be in the warehouses.
Sánchez confirmed that the delays of recent months will not be made up, since the available raw materials do not allow it. There were many complaints in that period due to the shortage of this product.
Marathon work and energy crisis
In turn, he explained that the delivery cycles for November will be fulfilled on time, based on “established supply alternatives,” due to the high “presence that coffee has in the daily life of the population.”
Regarding the work of the Roastery, he added that it works 24 hours a day and that they have a distribution scheme aimed at speeding up this process, even in the midst of the “energy contingency” and, above all, to the most remote establishments.
The Holguín province alone requires 104 tons of coffee to cover its demand, says Acn.
If it has the raw materials available, this company must continue processing until the end of the year to at least satisfy the basic basket, the manager said.
The Holguín Coffee Roasting Plant is designed to assimilate about 3,000 tons per year, from imported coffee beans and peas, but those capacities have been reduced by technological obsolescence and the deficit of raw materials.
Coffee crisis
During this year, the sale of coffee, both that corresponding to the basic basket and that sold in stores in MLC, has experienced a drastic reduction, a crisis that worsened starting in May.
National production has been depressed for different reasons, ranging from investment in this agricultural sector to the lack of workers to guarantee the planting and harvesting of grain.
According to recent data, the current productive yield of the coffee season is just 0.18 tons/hectare. In the world, the average figure is 1t/ha, and the countries with the best results exceed 2.
In terms of production, Cuba is in the order of 9 to 10 thousand tons per year, but a minimum of 24 thousand is needed only for the domestic market and reaching 30 thousand to increase exports.
Fountain
