On a recent Tuesday, two trucks from a small private enterprise arrived at the garbage dump in the Villena neighborhood of Boyeros, a Havana municipality, to dispose of egg cartons that had deteriorated due to the heat. However, local residents became aware of this and hurried to collect the eggs before they were trashed. This incident was captured in images shared on Facebook by exiled opposition figure José Díaz Silva, who claimed the videos came directly from Cuba.
Residents justified their actions by suggesting that some eggs might still be salvageable, highlighting the extreme measures people are willing to take amid severe shortages—measures that would be unthinkable under different circumstances.
The footage shows several individuals climbing onto the truck and offloading cartons, including a woman in a pink blouse carrying one of the cartons on her head as evening approached.
Díaz Silva portrayed the scene as a stark illustration of "the harsh economic and social conditions many Cubans endure, forcing them to seize any opportunity to bring food to their homes amidst scarcity and soaring prices."
The Ongoing Egg Crisis in Cuba
This incident is not isolated. In March 2025, a similar event unfolded in Santiago de Cuba, where dozens of people collected rotten eggs from the street during a diarrheal outbreak, further showcasing the level of desperation.
Underlying these events is a poultry crisis deemed the worst since the Special Period of the 1990s. Egg production has plummeted dramatically: in the Isle of Youth, production fell by 98%, from 42,000 to just 1,000 eggs daily. Ciego de Ávila experienced a decline from 120 million eggs in 2016 to merely 16 million by 2024.
On the black market, a carton of 30 eggs can fetch as much as 3,300 Cuban pesos, exceeding the monthly pension of a retiree, while individual eggs are priced between 90 and 120 pesos.
Government Measures and Local Challenges
In an attempt to mitigate the shortage, the government imports 16.5 million eggs monthly from the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and the United States, while imposing sales limits: four eggs per person on the Isle of Youth at 50 pesos in state stores, and five per person in Las Tunas at 60 pesos.
The Boyeros municipality, where this recent episode took place, also suffers from a chronic shortage of bread and other essential goods, as reported by its residents.
The overall situation remains bleak: according to the 2025 "En Cuba Hay Hambre" survey by the Food Monitor Program, 96.91% of the Cuban population lacked adequate access to food as of April 2026. Additionally, the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights estimates that 89% of Cubans live in extreme poverty.
"The reality confronting the Cuban people grows harsher by the day," Díaz Silva commented while sharing the images. "The lack of food, low wages, and the general crisis continue to affect Cuban families."
Understanding the Food Crisis in Cuba
What sparked the scramble for spoiled eggs in Boyeros?
Residents rushed to collect spoiled eggs from a truck at the Villena neighborhood dump in Boyeros, hoping to find some salvageable eggs amid severe food shortages.
Why is there a poultry crisis in Cuba?
Cuba is experiencing its worst poultry crisis since the 1990s, with egg production significantly declining due to various economic and logistical challenges.
How is the Cuban government addressing the egg shortage?
The government is importing 16.5 million eggs monthly from nations like the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and the United States, while also setting sales limits per person.