Cuba cuts daily bread rations due to raw material shortages

The latest shortages are straining a decades-old subsidy program started by late leader Fidel Castro. Bread, one of the few basic food products still subsidized in Cuba, will be reduced from 80 grams to 60 grams, or roughly the weight of an average biscuit or a small bar of soap. Its price has also dropped slightly, to just under 1 peso, or 1/3 of a cent. However, many Cubans, who earn around 4,648 pesos a month (about $15), cannot afford the more expensive bread on the private market, leaving them with few alternatives. A worker sits next to loaves of bread on shelves inside a bakery in Havana, Cuba - Photo: Reuters "We have to accept it, what else can we do?" - Havana resident Dolores Fernandez told Reuters as she stood outside a bakery on Sept. 16. The Cuban government said it plans to step up inspections of state-run bakeries to ensure quality is not compromised. Cuba said last week that it was running short of flour for bread production, a situation the government blamed on ...