Yemen’s Food Basket Jumps by 85%, Govt Considers S. American Alternative

Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)
Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)
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Yemen’s Food Basket Jumps by 85%, Govt Considers S. American Alternative

Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)
Relief workers in Sanaa. (EPA)

Yemen’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said it is looking for alternative markets to buy wheat from South America and Asia in order to cover the disruption to global wheat supplies generated by the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine.

A senior official in the Ministry said Yemen is considering Brazil and India.

He pointed out that many regional countries that have large stocks of wheat also offered to sell Yemen the quantity it needs.

The government pledged to work on providing credit lines for importers.

Yemen imports about 46% of wheat from Russia and Ukraine.

A food security analysis prepared by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network said Yemen is currently suffering a surge in food prices since it relies heavily on imports to meet its need.

According to the report, the cost of the most basic food basket has increased significantly by 12% since March, up 85% than a year before.

The purchasing power of families has been highly affected due to years of economic slump and conflict.

The analysis further indicated that the years of political stalemate led to weaken the economy and pushed people into poverty.

Displacement led to Yemenis losing their sources of income, leaving people extremely vulnerable to the rising prices of basic foodstuffs and unable to meet other basic living expenses.



Iraq, UK Agree on Trade Package Worth up to $15 Billion, Defense Deal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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Iraq, UK Agree on Trade Package Worth up to $15 Billion, Defense Deal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and Britain have agreed on a trade package worth up to 12.3 billion pounds ($14.98 billion) and a bilateral defense deal, the Iraqi and British prime ministers said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The deal, envisaging more than 10 times the total of bilateral trade in 2024, was announced after a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and British counterpart Keir Starmer at the latter's Downing Street offices.

It includes a 1.2-billion-pound project in which British-made power transmission systems will be used for a grid interconnection project between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as a 500-million-pound plan to upgrade the Al-Qayyarah air base in northern Iraq.

A water infrastructure project by a UK-led consortium that will help provide clean water in arid southern and western Iraq is also part of the deal, the statement said. The project would be worth up to 5.3 billion pounds in UK exports.

Sudani and Starmer also signed a defense deal that "establishes the basis for a new era in security cooperation".

Sudani said earlier that the UK-Iraqi security deal would develop bilateral military ties after last year's announcement that the US-led coalition set up to fight ISIS would end its work in Iraq in 2026.

The Iraqi premier began an official visit to the United Kingdom on Monday amid historic geopolitical shifts in the Middle East.

Iraq is trying to avoid becoming a conflict zone once again amid a period of regional upheaval that has seen Iran's allies Hamas degraded in Gaza and Hezbollah battered in Lebanon during wars with Israel, and Bashar al-Assad toppled in Syria.