Cuba has opened a shop in Havana that could eventually operate as the Communist-ruled island's first wholesale store for the fledgling private sector, offering products in bulk at lower prices than in expensive retail outlets.

So far, Zona+, where produce is piled up to the ceiling like in a warehouse, is offering only a handful of goods in large quantities at slightly discounted rates. Shop employees said that was an experiment. They said the plan was for Zona+ to sell everything in bulk at a discount, catering in particular to the small businesses that have flourished since President Raul Castro started reforming the Soviet-style command economy.

Shoppers at Zona+ said it already had an advantage on other stores because it was uncharacteristically well-stocked. Cuba's supermarkets are often half-empty and supply problems look set to increase as the government said last week it would cut planned imports this year by 15 percent.