English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 22 March 2024 — Forced to extend the harvest until March due to ’non-compliance’ — i.e. the failure to meet the goals of the sugar plan — nothing can help the Ecuador sugar mill in Ciego de Ávila. Now it is “the lack of the essential fuel,” according to the official press this … Continue reading “Ciego De Avila, Cuba, Extends the Sugar Harvest Until May Due to the Lack of Fuel”
14ymedio, Havana, 24 March 2022 — Sugar production in Cuba this year seems unable to overcome the worst prospects. In Ciego de Ávila, the authorities have reported several “breaks” in two plants that limit “the parameters of efficiency and productivity.” Eduardo Larrosa Vázquez, an official of the State’s Azcuba group in that province, declared to … Continue reading “Cuban Sugar Harvest in Ciego de Avila Winding Down Because Chinese Operators Haven’t Arrived”
14ymedio, Havana, February 2, 2024 — At the end of January, only six Cuban provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud had received the libreta (ration book), the official press acknowledged on Thursday. For the population, however, it is not the libreta that worries them, but the fact that the food isn’t … Continue reading “Cuba: Even if the ‘Libreta’ Arrives There Is Nothing To Buy in the Bodegas”
14ymedio, Madrid, 13 January 2024 — The 2023-2024 sugar harvest has just begun in Cuba, but the regime cannot hide that, once again, it will end in a debacle. None of the Ciego de Ávila sugar mills, for example, have begun to grind. In an article published this Friday, the newspaper Invasor says that the … Continue reading “The Delay in Grinding the Sugar Heralds Another Calamitous Harvest in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 27 November 2023 — Everything seems to indicate that we will have to dust off the headlines warning of the worst sugar harvest in the history of Cuba. The official State newspaper Granma warned this Sunday that the campaign will take place in a “very tense scenario” and closes the door to optimism, regretting … Continue reading “Cuba’s Official Press Annoyed by the Forecasts of Another Disastrous Sugar Harvest”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 November 2023 — A dozen state companies in Ciego de Ávila will end this year with their accounts in the red, Cuba’s official press reported on Monday. The authorities of the province, which have seen exports crumble by 66.6%, which translates into a debt of 85 million pesos, look with special alarm … Continue reading “In Cuba, Egg Subsidy Has Led to the Bankruptcy of Ciego de Avila’s Poultry Company”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 September 2023 — The Cuban authorities, who have witnessed the failure of one sugar harvest after another in recent years, have been convinced that the sugar mills in Cuba are more profitable being in ruins. This Friday, the official press announced that the Carolina mill, once the largest sugar mills in Cienfuegos … Continue reading “Abandoned for Decades, a Cuban Sugar Mill Will Be Converted Into a ‘Tourist Complex’”
14ymedio Havana, 22 August 2023 — A person residing in Sancti Spíritus was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the State Security Crimes Chamber of the Court of Villa Clara for burning three sugar cane plantations in January, the official press reported on Monday. Accused of sabotage, the man, whose identity was not revealed … Continue reading “A Cuban Who Burned More Than 100 Tons of Sugar Cane Is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 March 2022 — The preliminary results of the 2022-2023 sugar harvest continue to deepen the failure of the planned resuscitation of the sunken sugar sector, which was once the engine of growth for the Cuban economy. The latest press reports in Santiago de Cuba, Las Tunas and Ciego de Ávila indicate that … Continue reading “Cuba’s ‘Most Efficient’ Sugar Mill Has Ground Only 56 Percent of the Cane Planned for the Current Harvest”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 March 2023 — Cuba is scheduled to receive a new donation of rice in May. The five thousand tons being provided by Vietnam is intended to help relieve a shortage affecting almost half the island. Do Viet Duc, general director of State Reserves of Vietnam, said that it will consist of white … Continue reading “Vietnam to Donate Thousands of Tons More Rice to Cuba to Deal with an Unprecedented Shortage”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 February 2022 — On Tuesday, official press outlets acknowledged a serious shortage of “basic grains” and cooking oil, items sold through the country’s rationing system. In an attempt to soften the news, which comes as no surprise to Cuban consumers, Cubadebate blamed the situation on “late deliveries” and “import delays.” The Ministry … Continue reading “Cuba Faces Shortages of Rationed Rice, Dried Beans, Cooking Oil, Sugar and Salt”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 January 2023 — Companies in Matanzas, Cuba, fell far short of their export goals in 2022, some as much as 85% short of the plan. The directors of the province attributed the failure to productive stagnation, the lack of supplies and the absence of “strengths” in the industrial sector, as they explained this Friday to … Continue reading “Cuban Rum Exports Fall Due to the Bad Sugar Harvest and the ‘Lack of Containers’ in Matanzas”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 January 2023 — The failure of the sugar harvest in Ciego de Ávila is already becoming a reality. The leaders of the province, who have been justifying the poor results for weeks, acknowledged on Tuesday that the activities were “somewhat sleepy,” that is, slowed down, despite the fact that they had proposed … Continue reading “‘Somewhat Sleepy’ Sugar Cane Harvest Augurs a New Disaster for Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, January 6, 2022 — As expected, sugar production in Cuba does not seem to surpass the worst prospects. In the first two months of the 2022-2023 cycle, only 69% of what was expected has been obtained, the state group Azcuba confirmed to the State newspaper Granma. The problems remain the same as in … Continue reading “The First Data for the Sugar Harvest in Cuba Confirm the Worst Official Forecasts”
14ymedio, Madrid, 17 January 2022 — The López-Peña sugar mill, in Báguanos, Holguín, should have produced 13,000 tons of sugar this February, but it only has 30% of the planned plan to date, according to Reina Salermo Escalona, director of provincial coordination of Azcuba in Holguín. The official attributes the delays, which are widespread in … Continue reading “Little Sugar Cane and Many ‘Adversities’ in the Holguin Harvest”
