Why is there a lack of salt in Cuban kitchens?
HAVANA, Apr 15. The Puerto Padre Salinera, in the province of Las Tunas, cannot transfer its productions to other provinces in the country,in the midst of difficulties for the salt it processes to reach even homes in the territory through the ration book.
According to the digital edition of Periódico 26, if this basic state business unit does not expand its fine salt market beyond Las Tunas, Holguín and Villa Clara, it is due to the lack of cargo transportation to move production to these territories with commitments. and, even, “on many occasions these problems have influenced the delivery deficit to consumers.”
Although other state stakeholders are unable to complete the chain, the salt company says that it maintains its production and the Salt Hills continue to grow with an eye on its delivery plans for the Electrochemical Industry and fine salt for social consumption and the basic basket of the aforementioned provinces.
In 2023 the company produced more than 25,000 tons of salt. This year the plan is similar, starting with 32,000 tons of raw material extraction to produce 16,500 tons of coarse salt for its main client, the Electrochemical Industry of Sagua la Grande, in Villa Clara, and animal feed, and 8,500 tons destined for the basic basket and social consumption.
Read also: THERE IS NO SALT ON THE CUBAN TABLE AND THE BLACK MARKET TAKES ADVANTAGE OF IT
In the midst of material and structural problems, Puerto Padre Salinera aspires to return to exporting salt as it did years ago, given the quality of its product, according to statements by the technical manager Yenisleydys Domínguez Sánchez to the official local media.
Salt, the most basic kitchen product, continues to give Cubans headaches. The rationed market is not enough, in stores, there is often not enough. A one-kilogram package in virtual stores, focused on purchases by residents abroad from their relatives on the Island, can currently cost five dollars.
The authorities report year after year to the official press about the lack of this product, but the problem is repeated again and again.
In February 2023, the then Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, explained on the television program Mesa Redonda that there were about 9,000 tons of salt in the warehouses of the salt mines, but that the problem was the same: “transportation.”
