Some 66 tons of powdered milk from Mexico’s solidarity donation departed in three tractor-trailer trucks for eastern Cuba for distribution to children and pregnant women who, according to the OFICODA census, regularly receive this product.
The shipment to the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma today, and to Guantánamo and Isla de la Juventud this Tuesday, corresponds to the second donation received from the Mexican government, consisting of 270 tons, Daiana Matech Vilá, first vice president of the agri-food industry business group, explained to the press.
The expert reported that the shipment has already arrived in Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana, and Holguín, and that distribution throughout the country should be completed by Thursday. This follows a national effort, under challenging circumstances, to ensure fuel for the transport carrying the precious cargo. She clarified that although the milk is currently stored in these locations, the Ministry of Domestic Trade is responsible for its distribution to the bodegas (ration stores).
Iván Lolo Milanés, head of the dairy group within the company, announced that this powdered milk is packaged in 25-kilogram bags, will be distributed in bulk to bodegas free of charge, and
The official stated that the provinces of Mayabeque, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey, and Las Tunas will not receive the donation because they are already part of the fluid milk distribution program, either through direct agreements with agricultural producers or through dairy companies.
Dayadna Fernández, deputy director of the Havana Dairy Complex, clarified that this donation is unrelated to the distribution of a one-kilogram package of powdered milk in February, which the Ministry of the Food Industry purchased from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to meet the needs of the children receiving it, according to the census.
Havana, with its 884 distribution routes, will provide the product to 12,745 children between one and two years old, and to 89,552 children between two and six years old. For Antonio La Rosa, director of the Logistics Business Unit of the agri-food business group, the operation is complex: first, transporting the donation from the port to the warehouses at the Havana dairy complex, and then, in sealed and guarded containers, to its final destination in each Cuban province.
The transport of the first donation, which arrived with 277 tons, was completed successfully.
IMAGE CREDIT: Bárbara Vasallo | Photo: Omara García Mederos
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
