PINAR DEL RIO, March 26 (Víctor Rolando Arroyo, UPECI) - The shortage
of food in Pinar del Río, Cuba's westernmost province, is becoming more
acute.
Rice is scarce and selling at 4 pesos a pound. Black market speculators have
been taken an unhealthy interest in the price fluctuations of the Cubans' staple
food. Some say the government has run out of rice and cannot prevent the prices
from rising. At the same time, the ongoing drought has prevented the spring crop
from being planted.
The "potato campaign," as it is called here, is also not going
well. 24 days after starting the harvest of the present crop only one pound of
potatoes per capita has been available for sale in the provincial capital.
The present "campaign" is hampered by a 20 percent reduction in
the area planted with respect to last year.
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