About 70 percent of Yemen's food imports entered through Hodeidah ports that are under the control of the Iran-backed Houthi militias, which claim that these ports are besieged.
Several international reports showed that imports through ports under the legitimate government's control dropped 53 percent from the same period last year, while fuel imports through ports under Houthi control increased 330 percent during the UN-sponsored ceasefire.
According to a report by the Early Warning Network on Famine and governmental and other data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Yemen is highly dependent on imports for its staple food supply, and available data shows that imported volumes of basic food commodities are significantly lower this year compared to last year.
Traders imported nearly 3,700,000 basic food commodities through all the country's central sea and land ports.
Decline in wheat imports
The report confirmed that 70 percent of basic food commodities were imported through the western Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and al-Salif, while 30 percent was imported through Aden and other sea and land ports.
The total amount imported nationally was 14 percent lower than in the same period of 2021, due mainly to a 48 percent decline in wheat imports through government-controlled ports following the start of the war in Ukraine in February.
Similar trends are observed in the third quarter of 2022 when the amount of food imported nationwide was 21 percent lower than in the same period of 2021, and the amount imported through government-controlled ports was a full 53 percent lower than in the same period of 2021.
The Hayel Saeed Anam Group (HSAG), Yemen's most prominent food conglomerate, imported 436,140 wheat grain, mainly from France, Romania and Australia, of which 379,340 berthed in Hodeidah and Aden seaports.
Fuel flow
Despite lower import levels through government-controlled seaports, basic food commodities remain widely available.
However, even with declining fuel prices nationwide and the relative stability of the local currency in government areas, food prices remain higher than at the same time last year and significantly above average.
Prices of staple wheat flour, cooking oil, and basmati rice in September 2022 were 56 percent, 48 percent, and 35 percent higher, respectively than in September 2021. This is mainly because traders are reluctant to decrease prices to preserve profit margins.
Meanwhile, in Houthi-held Sanaa, the cost of the minimum survival food basket decreased by five percent from August to September 2022, but remained 13 percent higher than in the previous year.
According to data from the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM), nearly 1.6 million tons of fuel were imported through Houthi-controlled seaports, marking a 330 percent increase.
Livelihoods continue to be disrupted by years of conflict and economic decline, with income-earning opportunities remaining below average.
Reports suggested that the rising levels of conflict would likely reduce household income-earning opportunities and impede fuel imports through the Red Sea ports, leading to declining fuel availability and upward pressure on prices in areas controlled by the Houthi militias.
