An analysis conducted by the organization Food Monitor Program (FMP) warns that Cuba's food crisis extends far beyond empty store shelves, reduced rationed quotas, or the decline in national production. It highlights the breakdown of the entire system responsible for producing, transporting, preserving, and delivering food to homes.
The report, titled "From Farm to Table: The Broken Chain of Hunger," reveals that Cuba has gradually replaced its formal logistics network with precarious survival mechanisms. These include horse-drawn carts, bicycles modified to carry sacks of produce, state vehicles transporting eggs without adequate protection, and informal family and neighborhood networks struggling to maintain even a minimal flow of essential products.
"In today's Cuba, eating increasingly depends on a crumbling infrastructure, an exhausted economy, and a sequence of makeshift solutions," the document states.
FMP's analysis indicates that 97.65% of households reported difficulties in accessing essential goods, while 98.82% noted price increases over the previous twelve months.
The Struggle in Rural and Periurban Communities
According to the analysis, over 24% of the Cuban population resides in periurban, rural, or hard-to-reach areas and relies on these logistical chains for supplies.
In these communities, food arrives less frequently, later, or at higher prices. Vulnerable families, pensioners, the elderly, and those without transportation or support networks face double exclusion: having lower incomes to purchase food and fewer opportunities to travel in search of it.
Speculation and Systemic Failures
The report argues that speculation cannot be solely attributed to the actions of individual resellers: "Speculation thrives because there is a structure that allows it: a government unable to ensure regular distribution, a weakened public network, an economy without stable rules, and a population forced to compete for basic goods under extreme vulnerability conditions."
"Cuba's food issue is not just about how much the country produces. It also concerns how much it manages to move, under what conditions, with what losses, what health risks, and at what human cost," FMP adds.
The organization warns that the deterioration in food production, transportation, and preservation is leading to "a sustained increase in hunger, malnutrition, territorial inequality, and the erosion of purchasing power for a population forced to survive within a system that no longer guarantees sufficient production or dignified distribution."
Impact of Energy Crisis and Rising Informal Market
The national survey "In Cuba There Is Hunger 2025," presented in May 2026 by Food Monitor Program and Cuido60, revealed that 33.9% of respondents had at least one household member who went to bed hungry due to a lack of food in the previous 30 days.
This figure represented an increase of 9.3 percentage points compared to 2024. The same survey, based on 2,513 valid responses collected across 16 provinces, found that 94.9% experienced some degree of loss in food purchasing access over the last year, with 47.1% describing this loss as considerable or total.
Official statistics cited by Reuters support this diagnosis. Cargo traffic in Cuba fell by 19% in 2024, dropping from 57.5 million metric tons in 2023 to 46.5 million. In 2019, before the deepening of the current crisis, the country moved 68 million tons. Economist Ricardo Torres told the agency that the volume had fallen to levels unseen in 20 years.
The energy crisis of 2026 exacerbated the situation further. In May, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged that the country had no reserves of fuel oil or diesel to generate electricity, as power outages and fuel shortages impacted transportation, agriculture, and food distribution.
The extent of the blackouts was reflected in citizen testimonies: a Cuban woman recounted being without electricity for 30 consecutive hours and receiving just two hours of service, a cycle that made cooking, preserving food, and recharging electric vehicles used for transporting goods difficult.
That same month, the government scrapped the fixed fuel price in foreign currency and allowed each importer to set prices based on supplier costs, freight, routes, insurance, and operational risks.
The scarcity also fueled the informal market: gasoline prices soared to between 3,000 and 6,000 Cuban pesos per liter, driving up transportation costs and the price of any food reliant on it to reach consumers.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cuba's Food Crisis
What is the main cause of Cuba's food system breakdown?
The breakdown is largely due to a failing infrastructure, an exhausted economy, and the government's inability to ensure regular distribution, leading to reliance on makeshift solutions.
How has the energy crisis affected food distribution?
The energy crisis has led to severe fuel shortages, hindering transportation and agriculture, and causing widespread power outages that affect food preservation and cooking.
Why is speculation prevalent in Cuba's food market?
Speculation thrives due to a weak state distribution system, economic instability, and a population forced to compete for basic goods under conditions of extreme vulnerability.