Exports to be the mainstay of the economy in the easternmost part of Cuba in 2021

GUANTÁNAMO, Cuba, Feb 11 (ACN) Exports will be the mainstay of the economy of the Guantánamo municipality this year, José Otero Castán, local director of economy and planning, told ACN today.

“Our socioeconomic plan for this crucial period, in which shipments abroad are a priority, depends largely on the Altoserra company, the first that the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment authorized to become an export park. Altoserra markets abroad goods such as coffee,

cocoa, coconut and coal and is developing others like ginger, aloe vera and Persian lime, which make it the driving force of production and a major source of hard currency, used in turn to buy consumables and gain a foothold in the market.”

He pointed out that the increase in exports should also contribute to the recovery of tourism and, no less important to the province’s economic future, to the creation of production linkages closely linked to the municipal self-sufficiency programs.

Despite the economic and social consequences of COVID-19 and the tightened US blockade, this municipality boasted good economic indicators in 2020, mainly in terms of net sales—106.3 %—and labor productivity, which exceeded 18.6%.