Cuban Peso - CUP

Overview

The Cuban Peso (CUP) is one of the two currencies used in Cuba. The other currency is called the Cuban Convertible Peso. Since 1994, the Cuban Peso has been in limited use. It is known as the National Peso. Retails stores and other businesses mainly use the Cuban Convertible Peso. The Convertible Peso is ~25 times more valuable than the National Peso.

Economy

• Cuba’s economy is run by the state and seen as a planned economy.
• The majority of the labor force works for the government. The unemployment rate is 1.7%.
• Services account for 74% of the total GDP.
• Top industries are tobacco, petroleum, steel, cement, pharmaceuticals, construction, nickel, agricultural machines, and sugar.
• Export products are tobacco, shellfish, coffee, citrus, and medical products.
• Import products are chemicals, equipment and machinery, food, and petroleum.
• Cuba recently started attracting world class pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
• 80% of Cuba’s food is imported.
• Tourism is growing rapidly, however the retail sector in Cuba is poorly run.
• Netherlands is the largest importer of Cuban products.

History

• The peso was introduced in 1857, replacing Reales at 1 Peso = 8 Reales.
• In 1869, banknotes were subdivided into centavos.
• In 1881, the Cuban peso was pegged to the US Dollar at par.
• In 1915, the first coins were distributed.
• In 1960, the Peso was pegged to the Soviet Ruble and the USD peg became redundant.
• In 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved and the Peso started losing value against the USD.
• From 1993 to 2004, Cuba used the Peso for non-luxury items and staples; the Convertible Peso and the USD were mainly used in the tourism trade and for luxury items.

General Information