In August, vehicle exports reached $15.28 million, with motorcycles leading the way at $3.7 million.
14ymedio, Madrid, October 9, 2026 — The growth in fuel exports from the U.S. to Cuba continues unabated. In August, the value of these products rose 22.4% compared to the previous month, reaching $74.8 million. This figure once again sets a record, surpassing the $61.1 million recorded in July, which was itself 27.7% higher than June. In the first eight months of the year, the cumulative value of petroleum-derived products exported to the Island reached $231.74 million.
According to statistics published this Thursday by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, the product most heavily purchased by the Island in August was diesel, particularly through two significant shipments from Miami, worth $21.49 million, and Houston-Galveston, Texas, worth $12.98 million. Next in importance was a shipment of regular gasoline from Miami valued at $23.8 million.
In addition, exports of other petroleum oils and hydrocarbons are also particularly significant, especially two shipments from Houston ($6.1 million) and New Orleans ($5.5 million).
In addition, exports of other petroleum oils and hydrocarbons are also particularly significant, especially two shipments from Houston ($6.1 million) and New Orleans ($5.5 million)
As usual, the US-Cuba Trade report does not reflect the volume of exports. To determine the quantities involved, and whether they also increased or to what extent rising fuel prices contributed to the increase, it will be necessary to wait for data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Last July, that report revealed that the Island had received 3,222,000 barrels of petroleum products, almost double the amount agreed upon by Cuba and Venezuela in 2000 under the agreement signed by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez.
Cuba’s private sector is importing this fuel, which keeps the Island afloat, with authorization from both governments: the Cuban government allows it to purchase the fuel, and the U.S. government allows its companies to sell it. The country would have collapsed completely without these shipments. On paper, the State is not allowed to touch this fuel, although this newspaper has widely reported that numerous regime vehicles are being supplied with this diesel, which is purchased from private operators through schemes that the U.S. describes as violations of the sales contracts.
Over the past week, the U.S. said it had intercepted around 90 fuel shipments to the Island that were destined for the sanctioned Cuban state-owned company Enetec. Of these, 71 were detected at the port of Fort Everglades, Florida, and 19 at the port of Houston, Texas. In total, the authorities seized 600,000 gallons of petroleum (2.27 million liters) worth $2.8 million. The destination of all the shipments arriving on the Island is unknown, since it is unlikely that the private sector has the capacity to consume it all. One plausible theory is that the State is attempting to rebuild its strategic reserves, which it had to draw upon during the first months of U.S. sanctions.
The official press, for its part, is publishing an extensive report this Friday in an attempt to demonstrate that the oil blockade and fuel shortages have brought the transportation sector to a standstill. Among the arguments is the inability to supply airports with kerosene, which has led to flight cancellations and, consequently, the collapse of tourism, on which the Government had partly pinned its hopes for an economic recovery.
In addition, the authorities claim that “passenger transportation in Havana is currently operating with just over 100 buses, when at least 3,000 are needed to provide quality service,” they state. They claim that with barely 40,000 tons of fuel allocated this year, only 65% of demand can be met. These are among the examples cited.
Alongside the fuel boom, bilateral trade between Cuba and the U.S., authorized under licenses issued by the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury, continues to generate high figures in other sectors, such as vehicle sales. In August, vehicle exports—new and used, electric and gasoline-powered, trucks, motorcycles, and spare parts—reached $15.28 million, with motorcycles clearly leading the way, accounting for $3.7 million.
So far this year, the value of sales in this sector has exceeded $106 million, and it remains to be seen whether it will reach the record set in 2025, when it reached $149.4 million
So far this year, the value of sales in this sector has exceeded $106 million, and it remains to be seen whether it will reach the record set in 2025, when it reached $149.4 million, more than double the previous year’s figure. Republican complaints against Joe Biden, the first president to authorize vehicle sales to Cuba in 2022, have been forgotten, and exports are experiencing a period of extraordinary growth.
Meanwhile, sales of agricultural products and food showed a temporary recovery in August, increasing by 54.6% compared with the previous month. However, compared to August of last year, the value has fallen by 3.4%. Chicken once again tops the list in three different categories, with eggs in seventh place, and vegetable oils and cookies also remain high on the list. The tenth-place item in the top ten stands out: coffee, a product native to Cuba that is exported from the Island as a gourmet product, even as Cubans have to obtain it from the United States.
According to US-Cuba Trade projections, the cumulative total of U.S. exports to the Island across all authorized categories could exceed the $1 billion mark by the end of 2026.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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