By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-02-20

Wheat imports to Yemeni ports in areas under government control have been stalled by the Houthis' attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, aggravating food insecurity in the already fragile country.

The Iran-backed Houthis' targeting of cargo ships has led to a significant decrease in wheat imports to the southern ports of Aden and al-Mukalla, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization data released February 4 reveals.

Shipping fees have almost quadrupled in recent months as major shipping companies divert their vessels from the Red Sea amid the Houthis' attacks, sailing instead around Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa.

Compared to November, December wheat grains imports through the Red Sea as well as Aden and al-Mukalla ports went down significantly, at 43% and 37%, respectively, the Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Food and beverage prices rose by 6%, it said, noting that "these increases reflect rising transportation costs, expensive money transfer charges between governorates, and depreciation of the local currency against US dollars."

Insurance fees have risen 16-fold from previous levels as a result of war risks, Minister of Transport Abdul Salam Hameed said during a February 3 workshop on the port of Aden held by the Economic Association Foundation.

The cost of maritime transport to the port of Aden has risen by 100%, he said.

"The acts of piracy and targeting of maritime navigation by the Houthis, Iran's proxy, have led to dire and disastrous consequences for imports to Yemen," said Deputy Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Nabil Abdul Hafeez.

The Houthis' actions have had a negative global impact as well, he told Al-Fassel.

Decline in ship traffic

The Red Sea is the corridor through which food supplies are delivered to Yemeni ports on the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, with tensions in the waterway disrupting these trade routes.

Traffic through the port of Aden declined in January, economist Abdul Aziz Thabet told Al-Fassel.

"The number of ships that docked at the port of Aden in November was only six compared to 12 ships in June," he said.

In January "only eight ships" arrived at the port, he added, even after the United Nations moved the ship inspection mechanism from the Saudi port of Jeddah to the port of Aden on December 28.

Thabet said the transport cost per container increased from $2,000 to $7,000, which will lead to further increase in prices, poverty levels and food insecurity.

Yemenis were suffering from the economic and humanitarian consequences of the ongoing war already, he said, blaming the Houthis for initiating the conflict with their September 2014 coup and seizure of state institutions.

Famine hotspots

"A shortage in wheat imports will have major negative indicators and dire consequences on the national economy and individual lives," economic analyst Fares al-Najjar told Al-Fassel.

Wheat prices have increased by 19% from July 2023 to January -- a direct result of the repercussions of the Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea, he said.

Wheat is a staple food in Yemen, he added, noting that this underscores the intensifying severity of the food security situation in the country.

There are "signs of the emergence of famine hotspots in a number of Houthi-controlled areas in al-Mahwit, Hajjah and al-Hodeidah, according to a World Bank report," al-Najjar said.

The number of these hotspots is likely to increase, he said.

According to the United Nations, 21.6 million people in Yemen are in need of humanitarian assistance, while 17 million people suffer from high levels of acute food insecurity, including six million who are on the brink of famine.