The shortage of liquefied gas in Cuba has driven up prices on the black market. Since CUPET officially announced a pause in distribution on March 3, many families have been left without cooking options and have had to turn to resellers who offer balitas at exorbitant prices.
Distribution has been halted since March.
CUPET announced that liquefied gas sales were suspended until further notice due to import difficulties. Although assurances were given that service would resume as soon as new supplies arrived, no date was given. More than a month later, service has still not been reactivated, and the situation is further complicated by frequent blackouts.
In this scenario, cooking with electricity is also unviable for many people. People are forced to improvise or pay unthinkable amounts for a small gas cylinder.
The informal market takes over the situation
On social media groups, advertisements for small cylinders, both full and empty, are proliferating. Prices, which are unregulated, vary depending on the type and quantity of gas available.
A full 100-pound canister is offered in East Havana for 40,000 Cuban pesos. In Marianao, another sells for 20,000 pesos with half the gas. In Arroyo Naranjo, a vendor claims his is more than half full and is also asking 20,000. Even empty canisters are sold as if they were basic necessities.
There are also offers for gas tanks with home delivery, claiming that the customer can witness the gas being weighed to verify the quantity. Some publications offer the liquid for 18,000 pesos, not including the gas tank.
A luxury item for many
User comments reflect the desperation. “If a full one costs 20, how does a single mother with children cook?” wrote one. Another stated: “I have a 100-pound one filled to the mouth, and they ask for a discount when I ask for 40.”
In a country where the minimum wage is less than 2,100 pesos and the average salary is barely 4,200, buying a small ball has become an unattainable luxury for many families.
No official response or solution in sight
Since the initial announcement of CUPET There have been no new explanations. No information has been provided about the arrival of gas boats or a possible restart of service. Nor has any mechanism been established to assist the most vulnerable families.
The energy crisis affects every aspect of daily life: no electricity, no gas, and no viable cooking alternatives. Meanwhile, the informal market flourishes in the heat of need.
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28 comments
They should consider a future project to extend manufactured gas to the entire population. I think this should be possible. How many problems would that solve?
Including the savings this would bring, both in the transportation and import of this important product.
(Since this gas does not run out).
Speechless 😡 this is how it all begins in this country, 'get down to business' they destroyed the sugar mills and then said that there is no sugar for the people, something that just needs to be planted and the rest is already known, the coffee-growing areas continue to produce coffee, where is the people's coffee, the salt mines, the tobacco plantations, the chicken, pork, and cow farms, we don't have to buy any of that, we just have to innovate and look for solutions, which of course is not convenient to do, the same thing is already happening with gas, 🤐 speechless 😡 long live Cuba and its revolution 💯x💯 Cuban.
Opinion, if they will carry out some strategy with the opinions but everything will continue the same, thanks, this is not even good to read.
Just hand over the government, a bunch of incompetents. You're going to kill an entire people. With your whim to sustain yourself on lies and corruption.
It is worth mentioning something that is known at all levels if we are going to be made aware of the first method of management prevailing in our country: JUSTIFICATION and this is the case for everything until when
Although there is not much to cook, for the Cuban family that uses this type of fuel for cooking food it is vital and we have been forced to use, as an emerging resource, electricity, which is also quite scarce and no one gives information about when the gas cylinder service will be restored.
Until when will the working people, mothers, and the elderly be assisted? Are we going to pay for unworthy, corrupt people taking advantage of...
When the Government, Officials Authorities Can Work in Function 😔🤔
What a shame we have come to, the misery of exploration among us, mothers, the elderly, assisted with a minimum wage, who can live now... 🤔🤔😔 Until when will the authorities and government officials get to work? 😔🤔
How is it possible that the black market has liquefied gas if there hasn't been any for two months now? cupet Beware of scams and gas mixed with water
Here, we're all cooking with charcoal or waiting for the power to come in. No one with a salary or pension can afford those provocative prices.
This is unstoppable, like everything else in this country. Absolutely no price is commensurate with what a worker earns, especially where there are children, seniors, and retirees or those on minimal pensions.
cheers.
I'm from Pinar del Río and my bullet has been empty since July 2024 and I haven't received any response.
Where do resellers manufacture liquefied gas if there isn't any here in Cuba?
that's it
minimum wage 1500..pensioners and retirees...will there be any MSMEs that sell this product...I saw that it was liquidated at 18000...half at 20.000...and another 40.000...those who have to give them a solution to this will say...why do they need gas...or electricity if with the minimum wage that retirees and pensioners have...they can no longer even buy something to eat...even if it's for 3 days. Their death must be quick...I'm talking about them because they are the most affected...not all of them have someone to help them...and you know it's all a matter of taking away from us. ..and leaving it at the mercy of what each person can do...that's how parents are with children, both young and adolescent. Those who have to take care of a sick person or an elderly person. In short...the life of a Cuban...is super difficult...and for those of us who are here...without a solution...and thank God for those who have a bit of health...blessings for those who can buy...
Where does liquefied gas come from? I think it's from the country's reserves, because no one with half a brain is going to sell their gas, given what we're going through. And the state is increasingly neglecting the needs of the population. How have we been able to solve problems and go back a thousand light years? It doesn't matter.
I ask: if there is no gas, where do the people who sell the pellets get this product from?
Not in 40.000, not in Puerto Padre, Las Tuna is at 60.000, and I ask if the government is the only one that has access to liquefied gas, where do the resellers get it from? Such negligence and opportunism is not possible. Ultimately, it is the people who are suffering, especially the children and the elderly, but nobody cares about that.
That makes me very sad just thinking about the children and the older people.
I don't understand why individuals sell gas and the state doesn't have it. How long will this last? I've seen people cooking in the streets. How long will this last?
In a previous comment, I explained that they were mistaken. The last gas service in Havana was in January, and we're going for more.
be professional and get up to date.
Good afternoon, a service as vital as gas, that we cannot have for a cycle that we had set, in order to be able to prepare food for our families, in September I got the last little bullet, but we could ask ourselves and see if it's going well in our country. Greetings
Until when will the State allow resellers to sell gas from the left at high prices that only a millionaire can afford? Where do they get it from if the liquefied gas service in the country has been paralyzed since March 3/25? It's a situation that has upset and worriedcupgiven to the population that does not receive a response to this situation.
Everything that is said about liquefied gas is true, and because there is gas on the black market, many of us cannot pay these exorbitant prices. A solution must be provided so that people can cook their food. We are in a complex situation, please.
Overthrow the Dictatorship.
Maritza, you hit the nail on the head.
There is no other solution.
It's not that they can't cook their own food, it's that they don't have food, medicine, transportation, in short, they have nothing.
Can someone explain why a private individual can sell gas from a tank? Where does the gas come from if only the state has access to its purchase or sale?
Are you really unaware of the corruption that exists in Cuba thanks to the "historical leadership" of Roboilusion...?
Very