HAVANA - Cuba's rapidly growing number of small private restaurants has forced the government to reorganize private bread production, a state-run daily necessity in Cuba, Cuban daily Granma said Monday.

"The discrepancy between bread supply and demand in the country is exacerbated by the growing demand from private food processors who have acquired self-employment licenses in recent months," the newspaper said.

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Bread in Cuba is sold only in state-run stores, and the supply is now considered "insufficient" to meet the demand of the Cubans, as demands from an increasing number of private restaurants and fast food outlets are making the "bread crisis" worse.

From March 1 to date, Cuban authorities estimated that in Havana alone, up to 9,779 people have opened private restaurants and cafes.

"Clearly the only solution is to increase the production to meet all requirements," the newspaper said, adding the bread supply on the island is still "complex."

Every Cuban has the right to acquire one loaf of bread per day at a subsidized price through a food rationing program, but in recent years the government has also opened up establishments where bread is sold freely in Cuban pesos, together with shops and candy stores that sell goods and food in foreign currencies.

Cuba's state-owned bread company Cadena Cubana del Pan reported an increase in daily bread production from 25 tons in 2010 to 33 tons, while the demand this year is expected to grow by 52 percent.

The new production plan is "insufficient," and to meet the growing demand it is necessary to "rescue" the capability of the bakeries to make their own bread, the company's director Gloria Rodriguez said.

The Cuban authorities said they will make sure all measures are taken to meet the growing demand for bread.

Cuban leader Raul Castro recently announced that the ruling Communist Party will hold its first congress since 1997 in the second half of April, and the reform of Cuba's economic model will be the central theme of the congress. The Cuban government currently controls 85 percent of the island's economy.