Havana, Cuba.- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Sunday that food production in the country is a priority, as well as the reduction of food exports.

The head of State reviewed the work of that sector, which is indispensable for national development, and recalled that it is conceived as a strategic task in the guidelines of the economic and social policy of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).

The president noted the need to eradicate the importing mentality. ‘We have to think that way for the country to develop,’ he pointed out.

Diaz-Canel also called to promote domestic production and encourage those who can develop it, and instructed to rescue products such as natural juices and sugarcane byproducts.

In that regard, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said that some productions can be made at the municipal, local or family levels, without expecting big industries to be involved.

He also called to boost some exports to facilitate hard-currency revenues to be used in the country’s development.

For his part, Food Industry Minister Manuel Sobrino Martinez explained that they are working on the reactivation of the necessary technology to boost production of preserves, ham, yogurt, oil and flour, among other products.

Agriculture Minister Gustavo Rodriguez referred to spring sowing, egg production and vegetable crops, as well as the construction of organoponics, and the strategy to increase pork production.

Currently, Cuba imports some 2,000 tons of food for the basic basket, an action that is more complex due to the financial situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the US blockade.