First neighborhood markets in the country created

As part of the transformations underway in the country’s commerce, gastronomy and services sector, the first 24 neighborhood markets have already been created, which seek to relocate and transform the network of grocery stores, markets and butcher shops, prioritizing food and hygiene items with price reductions of between 10 and 15 percent compared with other establishments.

The promotion of this new form of merchandise sales management and its commercialization in certain entities selected by the different territories is part of the initiatives the country is carrying out to bring these services closer to the population and partly make up for the deficit of products previously distributed through the basic basket.

Marpessa Portal de Villiers, general director of merchandise sales of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, explained that although all provinces are working on this decision, the territories with the largest number of establishments are Guantánamo and Havana.

Some of the tax incentives for non-state economic actors that join this modality are a 5 percent rebate on sales tax payments and exemption from that tax for those who engage in wholesale trade with selected entities of the Domestic Trade system.

Among the products benefiting are powdered milk, ground meat, hamburger, chicken, sausage, eggs, vegetable oil, canned tomatoes, pasta, noodles, grains, rice, sugar, wheat flour, instant soup and coffee, among others.

In the case of non-food items, they include detergent, soap, toilet paper, deodorant and toothpaste, all with tax advantages in their sale within neighborhood markets.

The link between the company owning the establishment and the approved economic actor will be governed by administration and marketing contracts, selection of workers with priority for those who worked in the premises, and exemption from rent payments during the first two years.

Similarly, MINCIN is promoting the creation of Supply Markets, an alternative for reorganizing wholesale trade that allows direct access for natural and legal persons, under the principle of supply and demand, and wholesale sales in different formats.