HAVANA, (Reuters) – Cuba will hike the retail price of its 94 octane gasoline from 30 to 156 pesos per liter beginning Feb. 1, a five-fold jump the communist-run government says is necessary to assure fuel supplies, the minister of finances and prices said yesterday.
The country will also open 29 gas stations nationwide that will sell gasoline exclusively in U.S. dollars, another measure aimed at raising vital foreign currency to purchase fuel on the international market, Finance and Price Minister Vladimir Regueiro said.
The price hikes are part of a broader package of measures to be detailed this year that the government says is necessary to control deficit spending and to counter the shortfall of dollars it needs to import vital goods, from food and agricultural inputs to fuel.
Other types of gasoline, as well as diesel, are set to see similar hikes in retail prices beginning Feb. 1, officials said, though the mark-up will vary by grade.
Officials also gave additional details on previously announced hikes to both electricity rates for top-tier users and to liquefied gas favored for cooking by many residential users, changes they said were necessary to reduce subsidies and to encourage more efficient use of energy.
“These measures are aimed at reviving our economy,” Regueiro said.
Cuba, heavily dependent on imports of food, fuel and other goods, blames tougher sanctions first imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump and the coronavirus pandemic for a steep decline in export earnings needed to purchase imports.
Cubans have suffered growing shortages of food, medicine, fuel, transportation, power and consumer goods for four years.
The economy likely contracted in 2023, officials said late in December, as imports – as varied as fuel, spare parts and fertilizer – have all but vanished.
