Cuban private sector overtakes state in retail sales value amid economic crisis
Preliminary figures from the National Statistics Office indicate the "non-state" sector was responsible for 55% of retail sales of goods and services in 2024, up from 44% in 2023. These figures exclude public utilities.
The growth comes as Cuba's state-run economy has contracted by 11% over the last five years, marked by frequent blackouts, goods shortages, and high inflation.
The trend is visible at bustling informal markets such as the 100th Street Bridge Fair in Havana, where hundreds of vendors sell items often unavailable in state stores, from hardware to food and clothing.
'There are many things that you cannot find in the state sector,' said Diamela Garcia, a clothing vendor at the fair. 'Many people come to look for these things here."
María Karla Hernández, a 27-year-old physiotherapist in green scrubs shopping for work supplies, said shoppers acknowledge the greater availability of goods in the private sector but also the higher costs.
'Here you find everything, although the prices are high," she said.
Cuban economist Omar Everleny cautioned the retail data reflects sales value, not volume.
"Prices are often subsidized in the state sector and much higher in the private sector,' he said. "In addition, the state has little cash to import goods ... so people have to turn to the private sector, which is more flexible."
The government has gradually expanded the role of private enterprise since the 1991 collapse of its former benefactor, the Soviet Union, reversing a 1968 policy that nationalized all private businesses.
According to official figures, approximately 1.6 million people in a labor force of 4 million work in the private sector.
Economy Minister Joaquin Alonso told the National Assembly this month that while the country's overall imports have declined, imports by private businesses topped $1 billion, a 34% increase compared to the same period last year.
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