Rationed Rations

Quotas of beans, peas, salt are reduced
The individual quotas of three rationed food products -- beans, peas and salt -- have been reduced, effective June 1, according to the e-zine Progreso Weekly's blog.An official note by the Ministry of Domestic Trade, posted in every grocery store, states that the quotas of beans and peas, each set at 20 ounces per family member per month, have been cut to 10 oz.The salt quota -- 2 kilograms every three months for a 3-to-4-member family -- has been reduced to 1 kilogram.Black beans can be purchased in farmers' markets for 10 ordinary pesos (US 38 cents) per pound; kidney beans for 12 pesos (US 45 cents) per pound, but salt is sold only in convertible-peso stores, for the equivalent of US 70 cents per kilogram, the blog says."Many Cubans wonder if the rationing of what's already rationed will be limited to beans, peas and salt, or if this is the beginning of new cutbacks," Progreso Weekly's Havana correspondent writes. "Some people understand that peas are rationed because they are imported -- but beans? They don't understand the motive. To other compatriots, the measure is an unequivocal sign that the ration card will be around for a long time. And the card, even when prudently managed, is not enough to furnish [a family's] needs for two weeks."---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Posted by Renato Perez at 01:00 AM in Economy