{"id":223739,"date":"2020-07-01T13:15:59","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T17:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=223739"},"modified":"2020-07-01T13:16:36","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T17:16:36","slug":"rice-production-in-cuba-far-from-consumption-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/rice-production-in-cuba-far-from-consumption-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Rice production in Cuba far from consumption needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Rice production in Cuba in 2020 will fall far short of the country\u2019s consumption needs, according to projections by the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI).<\/p>\n

Of the 700,000 tons of rice the island needs to cover the regulated basic food basket and social consumption, only the \u201cinsufficient amount\u201d of 162,000 tons will be produced, the official Granma<\/em> newspaper affirmed<\/a> this Tuesday.<\/p>\n

L\u00e1zaro D\u00edaz, director of the Rice Technological Department, of the MINAGRI Agricultural Business Group, told the publication that rice production has not been as affected by the drought in 2020 as other years, and attributed its poor results mainly to the \u201cstrengthening of the U.S. economic blockade.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz affirmed that Washington\u2019s embargo \u201cparticularly affects the grain harvest due to the low availability of fuels for ground machinery and agricultural aviation, the absence of urea fertilizer, and other inputs that affect the industry\u2019s efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

The executive did not mention any possible effects from the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the production of rice, one of the main dishes in the diet of Cubans, established a historical record on the island with 304,000 tons, but a year later, despite the fact that the projections \u201cpreviewed a successful campaign,\u201d the figures fell to 246,700 tons.<\/p>\n

Arroz en Cuba: piedras y \u201cmachos\u201d que no terminan<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n