Alberto López Díaz, the Cuban Minister of the Food Industry (MINAL), has admitted that the government is unable to provide the expected quantities of milk needed for the regulated family rationing system. This shortfall is largely due to the country's failure to meet its production goals. Without pinpointing specific reasons for this failure, the minister highlighted the ongoing energy crisis as a significant hurdle for dairy farmers. He explained that power outages disrupt the production chain, often leading to milk spoilage.
"The milk often turns sour because there's no electricity for the storage tanks, or it arrives late due to delays in fuel supply. By the time it reaches the processing plants, power outages there also affect the product's quality," López Díaz stated.
Amidst vague justifications and statements echoing the regime's propaganda, the head of MINAL conceded that as of 2024, only 44 million liters of milk have been collected, far short of the 326 million expected (less than 15%). Once more, the minister placed blame on the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI), led by Ydael Pérez Brito. "We haven't been able to collect the milk due to various agriculture-related factors, some subjective, similar to our own challenges, but they also play a role," López Díaz mumbled during his appearance on the official television program Mesa Redonda.
"We are making an extraordinary effort—not as an excuse—to try to ensure supplies, guided by the country's top leadership. It's heartbreaking when we fall short, and every day, the more than 100,000 workers affiliated with MINAL feel this, but the basic rationing is our ministry's priority," he added.
The ineffectiveness of MINAL is attributed not to its leadership but to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) led by Vicente de la O Levy, and other factors such as the "blockade."
"We have the conditions, the installed capacity, and the strength from infrastructure built by the Revolution across provinces. We have food production facilities capable of producing over a million tons, but we lack raw materials," López Díaz remarked during his speech. "If the raw materials were available, we would begin processing," he said, shifting the blame to his counterpart Pérez Brito.
The Cuban regime often uses the U.S. embargo as a scapegoat for its economic mismanagement, which is rooted in the centralized planning of the socialist state enterprise and the monopolization of dollarized sectors by a corrupt elite of Communist Party bureaucrats and military officials. The failure of Miguel Díaz-Canel's so-called "economic reordering" has been exacerbated by the current energy crisis, further deepening the economic woes faced by the population.
On top of the discomfort caused by power outages in Cuban homes, the collapse of the electrical infrastructure also affects the national industry and economy. In a country where a kilogram of powdered milk can cost up to 2,000 pesos—while the minimum wage is 2,100 CUP—children over two, as well as the sick, pregnant women, and the elderly, do not receive milk rations. The news that the scarce national milk production is spoiling due to blackouts intensifies public outrage and widens the gap between the governed and their inept leaders.