A new dollar-only wholesale store opened on May 6 in Cuba’s Mariel Special Development Zone, a hub located roughly an hour from Havana. Operated by Tiendas Caribe—a subsidiary of the military-run GAESA conglomerate—the store aims to supply goods to licensed private enterprises, cooperatives, self-employed workers, state entities, and foreign offices.
This new store, Caribe-Mariel, offers food, beverages, hardware, appliances, hygiene items, and cleaning products. Access is conditional: potential buyers must register, verify their legal status (business license, cooperative certificate, etc.), sign a contract, choose products, and return 48 hours later to collect their goods. Payment is required upon delivery—exclusively in U.S. dollars via debit cards linked to foreign currency accounts. No credit options are available.
Although the store targets private business operators, those same entrepreneurs cannot legally charge customers in dollars. With state-run banks and exchange houses not selling foreign currency to citizens, these business owners must rely on the informal market—where the U.S. dollar trades at triple the official exchange rate.
Critics argue this model creates a double standard. As one self-employed worker told El Toque, “We’re not allowed to charge in dollars, but we have to buy in dollars. Only the government can do what it wants.”
This development comes in the wake of Resolution #5/2024 from Cuba’s Interior Trade Ministry, which tightens regulations on non-state wholesale and retail commerce. The regulation restricts private wholesale activity unless it’s their principal business function, and mandates that all such trade occur exclusively with state-owned entities.
Though the rule was set to take effect on May 7, its implementation has been postponed for small and medium-sized businesses and cooperatives. However, self-employed workers must now cease wholesale activities and liquidate their inventories.
The Caribe-Mariel Supplier is promoted as a solution to support non-state enterprises by giving them access to essential goods. Among the items available are products from Suchel Camacho S.A. (a state-private venture), Vietnamese firm Thai Binh Global Investment Corporation, and Spain’s Vima Foods. Mexican meat supplier Richmeat may also contribute products under a new agreement with Tiendas Caribe.
Economists warn that this centralization could exacerbate supply shortages and drive retail prices even higher. Since late 2024, shortages of staple goods like flour, rice, and cooking oil have been reported—alongside rising costs—fuelling concern about the store’s long-term impact on Cuba’s fragile supply chain.
