Yemen: Fuel Imports through Hodeidah Increased during Truce Compared to Last Year

Yemen's Hodeidah port. EPA file photo
Yemen's Hodeidah port. EPA file photo
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Yemen: Fuel Imports through Hodeidah Increased during Truce Compared to Last Year

Yemen's Hodeidah port. EPA file photo
Yemen's Hodeidah port. EPA file photo

A World Food Program on Yemen food security update has said that fuel imports through Hodeidah port that falls under Houthi militia control significantly increased - in the first three months of the announced truce - compared to the previous year.

This came at a time when the Yemeni government announced that the cost of fuel imports has increased to 2 billion dollars in the first half of the year compared with last year’s costs.

The government stressed the importance of doubling food assistance to millions of people in Yemen because of a food shortage caused by the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the WFP expects 19 million people, 60 percent of Yemen’s population, to suffer from food insecurity in the second half of 2022.

It is estimated that 161,000 are living in famine-like conditions with the exacerbation of limited access to food.



First Wheat Shipment Since Assad’s Ouster Arrives in Syria’s Latakia

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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First Wheat Shipment Since Assad’s Ouster Arrives in Syria’s Latakia

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)

A ship carrying wheat has arrived in Syria's Latakia port, the first delivery of its kind since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels in December, the government said on Sunday.

Officials of the new government say that while imports of wheat and other basics are not subject to US and UN sanctions, challenges in securing financing for trade deals have deterred global suppliers from selling to Syria.

The Syrian General Authority for Land and Sea Borders said in a statement that the ship carried 6,600 tons of wheat. It did not identify the nationality or destination of the boat, but one regional commodity trader told Reuters it was from Russia.

"A step that is considered a clear indication of the start of a new phase of economic recovery in the country," the borders authority said of the shipment, adding that it should pave the way for more arrivals of vital supplies.

Traders say Syria has this year been largely relying on overland imports from neighbors.

Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria's wheat and oil products but stopped after the opposition triumphed and he fled to Moscow.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government is focused on economic recovery after 14 years of conflict.