✅ Cuba no cumple con el plan de importación y exportación, busca divisas.

Cuba, lacking cash, did not meet its export and import plans until June of this year in the midst of a severe shortage linked to its dependence on food, fuel, and other inputs for agriculture and manufacturing abroad.

The First Deputy Minister of Economy, Leticia Morales, told a National Assembly commission on Tuesday that export earnings reached $1.3 billion, 35.7% of expectations, while imports totaled $4.4 billion.

The official reported that tourism, nickel, sugar, and other negotiable currencies did not reach the projected revenues.

Foreign press accredited in Havana was not invited to the committee meeting.

The report from the state news agency Prensa Latina does not surprise residents who have not seen a decrease in the scarcity of food, medicine, fuel, and other basic goods since 2020 and have faced triple-digit inflation, which has led to various protests and record emigration.

Morales did not clarify if the plans to import more than $9 billion and export $3.6 billion this year had changed.

In comparison to 2019, the country reported exports of $12.6 billion and imports of $11 billion.

Morales also noted that Cuba’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) closed last year with growth of 1.8% compared to the previously announced 2%. The GDP was 8 points below its pre-pandemic level at the beginning of the year.

Cuba predicted a 3% growth this year, while the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) placed it at half that figure.

Havana publishes little updated information on its current account. The government last reported that its external debt was $19.6 billion in 2019.

Connect with Voice of America! Subscribe to our YouTube channel and activate notifications, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.