Regular B90 costs 3.20 dollars per liter and diesel 2.40, with deliveries at service stations in several municipalities
14ymedio, Havana, September 12, 206 / The dollarization of fuel in Cuba has taken a new step forward. The digital platform Supermarket, which specializes in purchases from abroad for recipients on the island, began selling gasoline and diesel that can be paid for online and later picked up at several service stations in Havana. The arrangement opens up, for the first time, the possibility for a family member or acquaintance outside the country to pay directly for the fuel that will end up in the tank of a Cuban vehicle.
As 14ymedio was able to confirm this Saturday on the platform, Regular B90 gasoline is sold at 3.20 dollars per liter, while diesel costs 2.40 dollars. The offers appear linked to different establishments, including service stations in Santiago de las Vegas, Guanabacoa, Cotorro and Boyeros.
The buyer does not receive home delivery of the fuel, an option that is obviously impossible for a product of this kind. “Pickup only,” Supermarket warns. Upon completing payment, the customer must designate the person who will collect the order at a physical location. In that way, the money can come from a card in Miami, Madrid or anywhere else, while the gasoline ends up fueling a car in Havana.
The development expands a process of fuel dollarization that until now had advanced primarily through in-person payment
The platform also offers a much larger option: 1,000 liters of diesel for 2,300 dollars, equivalent to 2.30 dollars per liter, with pickup at the Perla service station, in Boyeros. The quantity and price suggest an offer aimed mainly at businesses and customers with high consumption needs.
The development expands a process of fuel dollarization that until now had advanced primarily through in-person payment. In May, authorities launched a network of gas stations selling exclusively in dollars and, in July, Regular B90 reached a price of 2.50 dollars per liter at El Jardín, located at Zapata and 4, El Vedado, after having sold for 1.80 dollars just two months earlier. Meanwhile, the Cimex corporation had suspended sales in Cuban pesos since February due to shortages.
Supermarket’s price is even higher: its 3.20 dollars per liter of B90 represents 70 cents more than the 2.50 dollars seen in July in the in-person dollarized network. For those receiving family assistance from abroad, however, the advantage lies elsewhere: it is no longer necessary to first send cash or foreign currency to the recipient so they can buy the fuel, nor to wait in long virtual lines for a turn to fill up at a gas station in the Cuban capital.
The digital sale of gasoline and diesel comes, moreover, at a time when the map of fuel supply to Cuba is changing
Supermarket had already tried a similar formula with another energy product. In May it began to offer 22-pound cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for 29 dollars, payable from abroad and outside the rationed system. That arrangement allowed customers with relatives outside Cuba to access a product whose state distribution had for months been marked by shortages, restrictions and long lines. But it also ruffled many feathers among those who only have access to the Cuban peso, through their wages and pensions.
The digital sale of gasoline and diesel comes, moreover, at a time when the map of fuel supply to Cuba is changing. US exports destined for the island’s private sector reached 61.1 million dollars in July, 27.7% more than the previous month. Since those operations were authorized, Cuban companies had acquired, through July, petroleum-derived products worth 156.8 million dollars, with significant shipments of gasoline and extra-light diesel.
The ability to buy fuel from abroad thus deepens a gap that is already visible in food, appliances, liquefied gas and other basic goods. For a driver without access to foreign currency, the only option is the informal market, where prices exceed 3,000 pesos per liter. For someone with a foreign card behind them, by contrast, all it now takes is an online transaction followed by a trip to the designated service station.
Translated by GH
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