None the less, there are real problems in Cuba today and it is incumbent upon the Editors of this HomePage to report them with as much honesty and friendly integrity as is humanly possible. Just which problems derive from just which mix of factors is, in any complex social algorithm, very difficult to trace. Basic foods are rationed. Those with dollars can buy pretty much what they find in the stores. Those without dollars must stand in line for bread, rice, eggs, beans, milk and other food stuffs.
Milk is rationed very closely.
Cuba is an equatorial country. Dairy cattle do not do well in hot climates. Ice Cream, very good ice cream is scarce but not rationed for those who visit Coppelia, the wonderful Park in Central Havana. For something like 15 cents, one can get a sundae with four or five scoops of the World's best Ice Cream. The availability of ice cream is a political rather than an economic decision.