The Government of Havana announced on Friday that Coppelia ice cream get on at nine pesos a ball and seven for Varadero ice creamthe two varieties sold in the ice cream shop homonymous, central meeting point of the Cuban capital.
This, according to a note from the Internal Trade Business Group of Havana, because “as part of the measures to stimulate agricultural production, the price of fresh milk was increasedwhich impacts the wholesale costs of industrial production of milk, as is the case of ice cream,” quoted the official newspaper Tribune of Havana.
With the new prices, a salad with five scoops of Coppelia ice cream will cost 45 pesos, and that of Varadero 35.
Readers erupted in the post’s own forum. “This is a story on the way. If the cow’s milk is produced in Cuba, prices should rather drop, since there is no need to pay freight and transportation. If what they want is to raise the price to distribute the utility to the gastronomists, that is another aspect. Second: Coppelia has to win more and more in quality and organization”, noted José.
For his part, Tico questioned: “So a father with two children and his wife who enjoy an ice cream will have to pay more than 200 pesos. No less than 150% of the average daily wage.
Going out to Coppelia is one of the few luxuries that some Havana families can afford, but since the government imposed the economic package of the “Ordering Task”, the value of food is no longer within everyone’s reach.
The price increase is announced despite the fact that in January 2021 the authorities they had to reduce under popular pressure the value of ice cream initially announced as part of the reform, which has since sparked a inflation unstoppable in Cuba.
At that time, the Provincial Defense Council of the capital reported that “following a thorough analysis of the population’s criteria, it was decided to reduce the prices of the Coppelia ice cream parlor” from the seven pesos initially decided to five, although one of the areas of sale of the habanera ice cream parlor continued to sell the food at the previous price.
Until December 2020, ice cream at Coppelia cost one Cuban peso each ball. To justify the increase, Yosvany Pupo, general director of Services of the Ministry of Domestic Trade (MINCIN), said then that the manufacture of ice cream has a high import component.
In addition, he mentioned as reasons for the increase the expense for salary and the increase in electrical energy that supposes the refrigeration of food, much sought following by Cubans to cool off the intense heat of the Island.
Since last year, Cubans have suffered from a very serious shortage of milk. The Government assures that delays in the importation of powdered milk is the reason for the situation. However, although the centralized state price for the collection of fresh milk to farmers has risen, it does not obtain the product figures necessary to be self-sufficient.
