Years ago, my mother got a letter from her sister in Cuba complaining about the lack of food and specially seafood. So my mother said to her Cuban friend:
Can you believe that? No fish in Cuba.
And her friend said:
How can that be? It’s an island. I remember going fishing and catching everything.
And my mother responded:
Yes, I remember that, too. But this is “Cuba comunista” and the fish have all gone to Miami.
I wonder what my late mother would say about the shortage of sugar in Cuba? Yes, there is not enough sugar in Cuba today.
This is the report via my friends at Babalu Blog:
The production of the 2021-2022 sugar harvest was the lowest in the last 150 years: only 480,000 tons of sugar, not even covering the average annual consumption on the island, which is around 600,000 tons. Of the 35 sugar mills that participated in the harvest, which ended on May 20, only three fulfilled their production plan.
“We don’t even have sugar at the bodegas,” says Alexis, the manager of one in El Cerro.
Once upon a time, Cuba had no problems growing sugar cane, turning it into sugar for domestic consumption or exports. It was a forgone conclusion that every Cuban would sweeten his strong coffee and light up a cigar, something I saw my father do often. I can still smell my mother’s Cuban coffee and my father’s cigar!