Havana, Cuba: The Cuban economy has lost 13% of its GDP between 2020 and so far in 2021, “a really hard impact” for the country, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Planning (MEP), Alejandro Gil Fernández, before the National Assembly of People’s Power, reported, Cubadebate publishes.
When presenting the progress of the economy until September 30 of this year, before the VII Ordinary Period of sessions of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the minister commented that this behavior, caused by the intensification of the blockade and the pandemic, “does not it may not be felt in the daily life of Cubans ”.
Gil Fernández argued that, in terms of income, at the end of September some 2 billion dollars were quantified (60% of the plan). It is expected that about 700 million less than planned will be captured, which is influenced by the income from tourism.
In 2020, he recalled, the country stopped earning 2.4 billion dollars. “We are talking that in a period of almost two years we have lost more than 3 billion dollars. The economy has been almost resisting”, the minister said.
Regarding exports, up to September some 1,344 million dollars of goods are quantified, 68.7% of the plan; while imports are around 5.8 billion dollars, 65% of what was planned.
The minister specified that 1,348 million dollars have been invested to buy food, “well below demand, but these are efforts that the country has been making to, as far as possible, support the supply of basic foods to the population”.
Gil Fernández pointed out the growth in prices of various products in the international market, for example, fuel that has been above 80 dollars a barrel, also food and even freight, with expenses that have grown two and three times .
“Financial execution is not always related to physical execution. Less food can be brought, but it costs more for transportation”, he added.
Gil Fernández alluded to the breaches in the sales of two of the main Cuban exportable goods, tobacco (91% of the plan) and rum (86% of the plan). In the case of tobacco, “we have been affected by problems related to covid-19, with the paralysis of some factories, and there have been demand problems in the international market for rum.”
He predicted the possibility that the income from the export of rum will recover in the remainder of the year.
Nickel sales maintain a good performance. The price is higher than expected, “but we have not reached the levels of physical production planned in the plan.”
He also exhibited favorable numbers the exports of honey and bio-pharmaceutical products.
The minister commented that the sales plan abroad did not take into account the impacts that covid-19 would cause.
In the case of the export of services (at 67% of the plan), the fundamental impact is on tourism. “We designed to receive 2 million international visitors, which will no longer be possible. We will fall far short. However, the important thing is to take advantage of and recover the industry as quickly as possible”.
Revenues from telecommunications services maintain a good performance.
Regarding foreign trade activity by forms of non-state management, a measure approved the previous year, there are 5 312 contracts to date, 197 for exports (15 million dollars) and 5 115 for imports (81 million dollars).
