PINAR DEL RIO, February 12 (Víctor Rolando Arroyo, UPECI) – The
development of Cuba’s cattle herd is being smothered by medicine prices
that have risen to the point where the cost of treating an animal can exceed its
price, according to a study recently released here.
The study, by Dr. Mario Hernández, of the "Carlos Quintela"
National Center for Agricultural Studies, an organization independent of the
government, looked at the difficulties faced by people raising cattle in the
context of the island’s economic situation.
Hernández found that the medicines veterinarians prescribe are mostly
sold in dollars, and that the agricultural concerns that have access to dollars
are few. In addition, Hernández says, the prices have gone up
considerably. The price of Oximina, an antibiotic, has gone up 16 times in the
last decade. The cost of tetanus treatment on a horse is at least 1,000 pesos,
or about the price of the horse.
The study also found a scarcity of qualified personnel in the industry.
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