Alejandro Gil

Havana, May 14 (RHC)-- Cuba will implement a gradual and selective foreign currency sales scheme as part of the updating of its economic and social strategy, Deputy Prime Minister Alejandro Gil informed Parliament on Saturday.

According to the Minister of Economy and Planning, the supply of free convertible currency (MLC) will be directed to national, state, and non-state suppliers. Production levels and prices will be agreed with them for its commercialization in Cuban pesos.

"Today we have a missing piece in the design of the country's monetary functioning, which is the sale of MLC, that is, of foreign currency to the population that has a demand for it." This generates a gap between the official exchange rate and that of the informal market, from one dollar for 24 in the former to one for 125 in the latter, he commented.

What is intended, he explained, is to create a secondary scheme for the allocation of foreign currency, through which it will gradually be sold to economic actors at a price higher than 24 pesos, but lower than the informal market, which will allow backing certain productions to later commercialize them in Cuban pesos, essentially through state entities.

This is a first step and will be aimed at the production of food and other products in high demand, said Gil. He added that this is a step forward to have an exchange market later, a missing piece in the economy, and then think about reestablishing the sale of foreign currency to the population.

He specified that under the current conditions of the Caribbean nation's economy, it is impossible to maintain a stable supply of foreign currency at the official exchange rate, since this would require a quantity of these currencies that would make it necessary to renounce the support of the main needs of the population.

"Neither are we going out to sell foreign currency at 125 pesos; the formula is to move in an intermediate field, managing the availability of foreign currency in the country and, selectively and gradually, take the first steps to generate a secondary scheme for the allocation of foreign currency," said Gil.

He clarified that it is not an exchange market because this entails accessibility rules and although it can have a floating exchange rate, it is not something that is practical at this time.

We are not idle,  the Government is facing the challenges with objectivity and bold measures, he emphasized.