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The main factories are Soft Drinks Cuba’s Los Portales factory in Guane, Pinar del Río province, will stop production for about 100 days in 2024 due to lack of raw materialsits director Mario Venero said in a statement quoted by the official portal Cuban Debate.
Although the factory has the capacity to produce 220 million soda cans and 60 million door handles a year, it was severely impacted by limitations on raw materials, according to state media.
By 2024, Cuban factories have been unable to operate for about 100 days due to a lack of carbon dioxide (the gas contained in soft drinks).
Venero said that currently, Los Portales is launching the production of bagged syrup, which will be destined for tourist facilities, but will also be commercialized in retail stores. He did not disclose the price of the syrup in these stores.
“We’re launching with the three basic flavors that dominate the market. That’s ale, orange and soda,” the manager explained.
In Cuba, drinking a soft drink or buying it as a school snack for your child is a difficult taskCarbonated drinks are sold in stores mainly in freely convertible currency (MLC), which is not available to Cubans who receive salaries from the state and do not have family members sending money from abroad.
Los Portales’ new product should be more affordable for the average Cuban because it doesn’t require gasoline or aluminum tanks. For marketing. In May 2022, Teresa Tejo Ramos, then director of Los Portales, gave the reason for the lack of these containers due to debt and the US embargo, since there were no cans of soft drinks even in the MLC stores.
Venero explained to the national media that adjustments are currently being made to start large-scale syrup production in a stable way. However, he assured that the product is already present in some tourist facilities.
According to Venero, Los Portales has the capacity to produce 1 million bags per year in 5-, 10- and 20-liter sizes.
It is also implemented in factories It produces flavored water, which is very popular among tourists.
“They are very interested in them because they are more environmentally friendly and are made from natural concentrates,” Venero explained, but he did not clarify whether the drinks would also be produced for Cubans.
Currently, they are obtained from pineapples and apples, and we are working with suppliers to develop melons as well,” the manager quoted Cuban Debate.
“Also, the market is looking into incorporating other flavours as it is a more natural product, thereby trying to reduce the reliance on carbonated soft drinks,” he added.
Venero said finding new products also helps retain the factory’s workforce.
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