Next to this sign, state-owned stores display another: “We greet May 1st with efficiency and commitment.”
14ymedio, José Lassa, Havana, 18 April 2025 — In large letters, the bakery window proclaims: “Long live May 1st.” In small letters, another sign clarifies: “The bread will be delivered when the flour comes in.” That old saying, “Save bread for May,” becomes a riddle. Since the beginning of this week, Havana residents have been coming and going with their empty bags, while the helpless vendors tell stories about shipments and boats that should have arrived. Meanwhile, at the private market, bags of 6 and 8 bread rolls skyrocket up to 300 and 500 pesos.
“I don’t know what to do to feed my son anymore, especially during this vacation week,” comments Teresa, a 35-year-old mother. “I’ve been without gas for over a month, and when the power goes out at noon, I have nothing to cook with. Bread is an emergency food, a solution, and I don’t even have that anymore.”
Teresa makes a sacrifice. She buys a bag of 6 rolls for 370 pesos at the private cafeteria right next to the state-run bakery in her neighborhood, that way, she at least ensures her son’s breakfast. “I’ll figure out what to do for the rest of the day,” she tells herself thoughtfully. This Wednesday, the Municipal Administration Council of Plaza de la Revolución reported on its Facebook page that, over the past 48 hours, its bakeries had been experiencing problems producing basic bread due to a lack of flour.
“That news report is published every other week. Cubans already know that when there’s no bread, it’s because there’s no flour, or no oil, or because the ship hasn’t arrived, and so on, like with rice and everything else”, says Antonio, who adds that clarifications or justifications are unnecessary. “We all know about their ineptitude. They’re good for nothing.”
On the other hand, bread offered for sale in private businesses hasn’t been in short supply, but its price has increased considerably in recent weeks. In Guanabacoa, it’s normal to hear a whistle or a child’s voice selling food on the streets at any time, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
“Until two weeks ago, I used to buy a bag of 9 or 10 rolls for 200 pesos,” says Leticia, a resident of the Habana Nueva neighborhood in the municipality of Guanabacoa. “There are three of us in my house, and each of us eats two, and sometimes even three rolls for a snack or breakfast, because they’re small, almost for a birthday, and don’t even think about saving them for two days from now, because they go bad quickly,” continues Leticia, who at least has the opportunity to spend that money every so often. “Well, those same bread rolls went up to 250 pesos last week, and this Monday they were at 300 pesos. The worst part is that now the flour is showing up, but these prices aren’t going back down.”
There have been several complaints on social media in recent days about the bread situation, suggesting that this is a national issue. In the capital, residents of La Lisa, Luyanó, Alamar, and Vedado have reported that neighborhood bakeries are out of flour, but individuals have all sorts of supplies. “It’s horrible to live like this,” says Yuly Saez in a Facebook post. “We’ve been without bread at the bakery for three days… no one is offering a solution or an adequate response, since our children’s main food source is bread. Now individuals are taking advantage and selling a bag of it for 500 pesos.
Meanwhile, no authority has provided an explanation for the product’s absence or the estimated time it will return to the bakeries. In September of last year, Anayra Cabrera Martínez, Director of Industrial Policy for the Ministry of Food Industry, reported that the weight of bread in the standard family basket would be reduced by 20 grams, from 80 to 60 grams, in order to avoid affecting production and ensure it reaches the entire population, due to the unavailability of flour in the country. She also explained that this was not a permanent change and that delays could occur due to the logistical effort required to transport the flour.
Months later, the bread situation does not appear to have an immediate solution.
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