By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-03-03

ADEN -- The Houthis' decision to ban the import of flour through al-Hodeidah province ports it controls is ill-considered and irresponsible, due to its adverse impact on food security and the cost of living, economists said.

The Iran-backed group announced the decision to ban the import of flour through al-Hodeidah and Salif ports on January 6, ordering shipping companies to abide by the edict.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned of rising flour prices across Yemen, as a result of the Houthis' ban.

"There is a risk of significant price inflation in the coming months across Yemen due to the Houthis' ban on the import of wheat flour through the ports of Salif and al-Hodeidah," an FAO Yemeni Market and Trade bulletin said January 16.

"The sudden ban, without a sufficient transitional period, in addition to the decline in local milling capacity and the monopoly of milling, raises concerns."

"This is likely to lead to a decrease in imports, disruption of trade and supplies, and an increase in wheat flour prices in the short term," it said.

The Houthis' decision encourages traders to import wheat flour through the port of Aden, it said, which raises the price due to additional overland transportation costs, fees imposed at checkpoints and "double taxes."

The measure came just two months before the holy month of Ramadan, the peak period of demand and consumption, which increases the risks of inflation.

Ill-considered decision

Yemen imports 90% of its food needs, economist Abdul Aziz Thabet told Al-Fassel, noting that the country "imports approximately three million tons of wheat, while local production does not exceed 10%."

Wheat cultivation and the production of sufficient quantities to cover local consumption "face two main problems, the first of which is the scarcity of water and the second of which is qat cultivation," Thabet said.

Qat accounts for approximately a third of agricultural land in Yemen, he said.

The decision to ban flour imports is "an ill-considered, wrong and irresponsible decision because it will adversely affect food security and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis," he said.

Wheat supply is lower than demand, he added, which will cause a rise in prices and encourage black market trade, harming the economy and increasing inflation.

"Wheat is one of the most important food crops in Yemen," political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher told Al-Fassel, noting that "much of the population depends on wheat as a primary source of food."

"The ban leads to an increase in the cost of living because of the resulting reductions in wheat imports, which may cause a shortage in the market," triggering a rise in prices, he explained.