The Cuban government imposed fines worth 30 million pesos (1.25 million dollars, at the official exchange rate for legal entities) in “the last five days” against an undetermined number of private companies for failing to comply with the price cap on six basic products, official media reported this Saturday.
The figure was announced by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, cited by the official Cubadebate portal. According to the head of the Cuban government, the fines were issued after carrying out 19,300 inspections, in which it was discovered that the limits were not complied with in 60% of them.
On July 8, the price cap on six basic products, including milk and chicken, came into effect.
The products with these limits in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are chicken, oil, sausages, powdered milk, pasta and detergent.
A kilogram of chopped chicken now costs a maximum of 680 pesos (5.6 dollars, at the official exchange rate for individuals); a liter of vegetable oil, except olive oil, 990 pesos ($8.25); a kilogram of sausages, 1,045 pesos (8.7 dollars); the kilogram of powdered milk, 1,675 pesos (13.95 dollars); a kilogram of pasta, 835 pesos (6.95 dollars); and a kilogram of detergent, 630 pesos (5.25 dollars).
In comparison, the average state salary is 4,300 pesos ($35.8) and pensions are 1,500 pesos ($12.5).
In recent weeks, audios of different meetings between businesspeople and government representatives have emerged in the independent press, in which the former showed their disagreement with the measure.
According to what was leaked, the owners of MSMEs assured that their prices were in line with the cost of importing their products and that the cap would end up harming the customers themselves.
As reported this Saturday by Marrero, measures were applied to the enterprises that did not comply, such as “forced sales (of products that were above the decreed price), the temporary withdrawal of authorization for the operation of the establishment and the confiscation” of their goods.
For his part, Minister of Finance and Prices Vladimir Regueiro affirmed that the fines for these cases vary between 5,000 (208 dollars) and 18,000 pesos (750).
On Friday, Miguel Díaz-Canel said at the closing of parliamentary sessions that “many” of the more than 11,000 small and medium-sized private enterprises (MSMEs) legalized on the island since 2021 “did not respond to the trust of the State”, and assured that in that case, “law and order” will prevail.
Author
OnCuba Staff
Pienso que el Estado ha sido demasiado venèbolo , es hora de tolerancia cero,no estoy en contra de que empresarios obtengan ganancias que siempre las tendràn pues los negocios son para eso , las Mipymes no resuelven el problema del pueblo sino adinerarse sin pagar impuestos , mucho tiempo , creo tres meses es suficiente ,un año es demasiado!!!!