Cubans pleased with new measures on food prices, migration

Cubans on Friday welcomed new government measures, including a 20 percent cut on the prices for several foodstuffs and allowing nationals to travel and work on cruise and cargo ships, just a few days after a national congress of the Cuban Communist Party.

The new regulations aim to raise the purchasing power of the Cuban peso in a country that is troubled by a dual currency system.

"These are things we hope to see more often in the future. Today, I feel the government is definitely trying to help the majority of people improve their capacity to shop at fair prices," Reinaldo Castillo, a Cuban state worker, told Xinhua.

As from Friday, the prices for about 70 food items, including cooking oil, rice, grains, meat, crackers and chocolate, were reduced by 20 percent.

The price reduction does not apply to food products sold at different markets where prices are set by supply and demand.

"We welcome the news as we are seeing how reforms and changes are being implemented in areas that affect ordinary citizens, as is the case with food prices," Beatriz Gendis, a private worker, told Xinhua.

During the party congress at the weekend, Cuban leader Raul Castro recognized that state wages and pensions are not enough to meet the needs of Cuban families, where an average state worker earns around 20 U.S. dollars per month.

Since 1994, Cuba has had a dual currency system which has brought "distortions" to its economy with a convertible peso, worth 25 times more than the nonconvertible peso.

Dismantling this system is one of the reforms the Cuban government has been working on since 2013 and many experts believe that the convertible peso will stop circulation this year.

Meanwhile, Cubans also learned on Friday the adoption of a new migratory policy that allows them to travel and work on cruise and cargo ships, something that had been banned since 1961.

The measure comes after American cruise company Carnival said it could not take reservations from Cuban-born citizens in the United States as Havana prohibited its nationals from departing from or arriving in the island country by sea.

Carnival is set to start its Cuba cruises on May 1 with Adonia, which plans to sail every other week from Miami to Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.

"It is very pleasing to know that we now have the opportunity to travel by sea," said Norbelys Martinez, a 22-year-old teacher.

The cruises would be the first between the two nations in more than 50 years and are a reflection of the ongoing thaw in relations since U.S. President Barack Obama and Castro decided to re-establish diplomatic relations in late 2014. Endi