“To earn one dollar I have to sell 17 liters of milk”

José Antonio Casimiro, owner of Sancti Spiritus of Finca del Medio And one of Cuba’s most famous agricultural producers condemned what he describes as “Outrageous prices” for cattlemen on the island.This comes amid a growing food crisis in the country.

Casimiro believes that “there is a lack of fair laws” that bring happiness and encourage production in Cuba.

“The price of cattle, the price of milk, everything is almost outrageous for the small farmer. There is no way to make any profit from this. It doesn’t matter whether to fatten the bull to sell or to sell the milk for 20 pesos,” he explained at the beginning of an interview published on social networks.

“I can tell you that To earn one dollar I have to sell about 17 liters of milk. Where do you get milk for that price? “Where in the world?” He asked the question, and also told that at that price You have to add the cost of transporting the milk to the delivery point, which costs about 500 pesos.

He calculated that to cover the cost of 500 pesos for transportation, he would have to invest money equivalent to 25 liters of milk sold to the state (20 pesos per liter).

He asks, “Where is the profitability?”

Casimiro gave the example of a bull weighing about a thousand pounds, which, after being valued at 14 pesos per pound, was equivalent to about $47.

“I did all the math and found that bull was worth less than a 47-pound piglet,” he complained.

To this are also added other related expenses: the tractor to transport the animal, 7 thousand pesos for a can of oil, a thousand pesos in taxes and about seven trips between them for papers and transit passes.

“If I had thrown the ox into the ravine so that the ringworm could eat it, it would have brought me more profit.”He sarcastically stated that “it can cost 500 pesos to buy an eight-ounce container of pressed meat, which may be bull’s eggs or tongue, in a store.”

“It is not possible to develop livestock or agriculture or anything like this.”Concludes José Antonio Casimiro, who says that for 30 years he has seen the same thing as always: bureaucracy and lack of serious decisions, obstacles that hinder any possibility of progress.

He concluded, “There’s something that’s been broken for so long, since I’ve been here… and I don’t see the light that’s needed.”

In 2021, the Cuban government published 63 measures that would supposedly stimulate agricultural production, these measures, like many other efforts, have failed.

José Antonio Casimiro’s statement comes days after the Cuban government began a survey of state and private livestock groups, a process by which, as of February 15, it has Sale and purchase of livestock between individuals on the island has halted,

To evaluate the current situation of the livestock sector in Cuba, agriculture will carry out a special control action with limited access from March 1. Those who need to sell their livestock during this period must do so, with prior authorization, to state entities.