Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, Oct 11.- The digital media Cubadebate today examines in great detail the cost of the current economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba.
An extensive report breaks down the most relevant aspects on the matter in order to demonstrate the existence of these barriers and their impact on the daily lives of Cubans.
The article points out that in 2023 the Cuban economy had a discreet performance, reflecting strong external impacts.
Limitations in the availability of foreign currency, inputs and fuel determined that it was not possible to achieve the projected economic growth of three percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices, estimating a contraction between one and two percent at the end of the year.
Exports continued to fall by more than three billion dollars compared to 2019 values. Strategic sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing, have accumulated decreases of more than 25 percent in the last five years.
As a consequence of the arbitrary inclusion of Cuba in the list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism, events occurred that were detrimental to the economy, such as the cancellation of commercial operations, cooperation actions and investment projects that were at different levels of implementation.
In the period from March 2023 to February 2024, losses due to geographical relocation of commerce, due to the need to go to more distant markets, are estimated in the order of 581 million 700 thousand dollars.
Likewise, the costs of freight, insurance and the use of commercial intermediaries, with the consequent increase in the cost of merchandise, reach 485.7 million dollars.
The United States government, moreover, uses tourism, the country's main source of income, as a political weapon against Cuba. In the months analyzed in Foreign Ministry reports, the emphasis of the blockade on hindering the recovery of this sector caused losses amounting to two thousand 499.7 million dollars.
In agriculture, damages amounted to no less than 441 thousand 122 million 320.38 dollars, significantly impacting access to foreign currency, inputs, raw materials, fertilizers, machinery, fuels, chemical products and technologies, which causes a considerable decrease of national food production.
The impossibility of hiring a significant number of shipping company’s interrupts the arrival to the country of supplies already paid for, which negatively affects the assurance of the basic family basket.
The text comments that the blockade also impacted the new actors in the Cuban economy.
At the end of March 2024, 10,614 micro, small and medium-sized private companies-Mipymes were registered in Cuba (along with the rest of the forms of non-state management, they represent close to 15 percent in the creation of the GDP and cover around 35 of employment in the country).
In 2023, 685 MSMEs were registered with losses in their management, which represented 7.2 percent of the total.
From March 2023 to February 2024, the damage caused by the United States blockade to the Cuban industry and business system as a whole is estimated at more than one million 309.5 million dollars, the analysis highlights.
The extensive examination, they explain, is based on resolution 78/7 of the United Nations General Assembly, entitled Need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. (Text and photo: PL)
