HAVANA, April 12 (Manuel David Orrio, CPI) - The Cuban Sugar Ministry has announced that Santiago de Cuba province fulfilled its production plan with a considerable level of efficiency in the soon-to-be-completed sugar harvest, but has not released total volume figures for the province.
This is particularly puzzling, since the ministry has announced total production figures for Villa Clara and Holguín provinces, for example. Each produced over 400,000 tons.
Carlos, an agronomist who didn't want his last name used, reasoned that Santiago de Cuba is not and has never been one of the mayor sugar-producing provinces in Cuba, so that the efficiency level of the province is not representative country-wide. Referring to the figures released, he said: "They
are good for propagandistic manipulation, but they don't point to advances at the national level."
Unofficial estimates place the volume of production in Santiago de Cuba at 200,000 tons. The official press reported that production costs had decreased to 304 pesos per ton, which is still above world prices for sugar, but represent a lower level of loss. The official silence surrounding
production figures for Santiago de Cuba is not unique. The official press has been notoriously reticent in divulging figures for Pinar del Río, Havana, Matanzas, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Granma and Guantánamo, which together account for about half the total sugar production in Cuba.
Versión original en español
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