Hurricanes ruin 30 percent of crops

Cuba Notebook: Hurricanes ruin 30 percent of crops
Ray Sanchez/Direct from Havana | Direct from Havana
September 21, 2008

Havana

After studying the newly increased prices and nearly empty shelves at an
outdoor food market, Angela Alvarez reached a painful conclusion.

"I will have to lose weight," the 48-year-old mother of two said. "We
will all have to lose weight. We have no choice."

In a land of scarcity in the best of times, two powerful hurricanes
barely a week apart have ravaged 30 percent of the island's crops,
putting new pressure on Cuba's more than 11 million inhabitants to feed
their families.

Hurricane Gustav hit western Cuba on Aug. 30, Ike eight days later. The
storms destroyed thousands of acres of crops. About 1.2 million eggs
were destroyed, half a million chickens died and 790,000 gallons of milk
were lost.

The impact from the storms is most evident in food markets, where
shelves are mostly empty and prices for the few available goods have, in
some cases, doubled.

"I just bought 3 pounds of malanga when I used to buy eight to 10
pounds," Alvarez said. "We'll be eating a lot of rice and beans. Cubans
are used to eating rice and beans. Forget meat. Maybe a little pork
sometimes."

With estimated losses of at least $5 billion from the storms, Cuba has
acknowledged rough times ahead for a populace dealing with food
shortages since the fall of Cuba's Soviet benefactors in the early 1990s.

"We face six hard months," warned Vice Minister of Agriculture Alcides
Lopez. The state, which controls more than 90 percent of the island's
economy, has adopted emergency measures to speed up production and
ensure the fair distribution of food.

"No Cuban is going to die of hunger or be abandoned to their fate,"
Lopez said.

In another agriculture market in Vedado, Heydie Gonzalez, 26, sorted
through nearly empty shelves.

"I just paid 20 pesos [about 80 cents] for a pound of red beans," she
said. "They were eight pesos before the storms. Then they went up to 12
pesos. That's two cans of beans to feed a family of four for one night.
If you're lucky, you have some beans left over for the next day."

Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a dissident economist, paints a bleak picture:
"Right now, farmers are collecting fallen crops and selling them. But in
15 days or so, you will really notice the shortages. Prices will go up
some more. And we could still have another hurricane. What then?"

Staff Writer Ray Sanchez can be reached at rlsanchez@sunsentinel.com

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