Houthi Red Sea Attacks Reignite Bread Price Crisis in Yemen
(AWP) - A supply chain crisis arising from the Houthi group’s targeting of maritime shipping lanes south of the Arabian Peninsula is causing an increase in the price of bread in Yemen, which has doubled in some areas to reach 70 Yemeni riyals per loaf.
Amidst a shortage in flour in the country, which has been embroiled in a civil war between the internationally-recognised government and the Houthi group for nearly a decade, obtaining enough bread has become yet another difficult task for many Yemeni families already experiencing dire economic conditions.
According to Yemeni citizen Ayman Nebras, the Houthis’ attacks are harming the Yemeni people more than those directly targeted by the assaults.
“Bread prices are increasing by the day. We used to buy 10 loaves for 100 riyals. Now the price is 200—see the difference? Exchange rates go up every day, and then one asks the government, what is the reason behind this, and they say that Houthis have hit the international maritime shipping lane to prevent ships from reaching Palestine. But it harms us, too,” he told AWP from inside a bakery in Aden.
The Houthis say that they are targeting ships carrying products or arms to Israel, which is fighting a raging war against Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.
The Yemeni militant group controlling the capital, Sanaa, has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on western and Israeli ships in the Red Sea since the beginning of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023.
In response, the United States is leading a military coalition that has been bombing Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, from which the group launches its drone attacks on cargo ships, according to the U.S. Central Command.
“After the Houthi strikes, the price of a loaf of bread has increased in all bakeries. Everyone is selling for 70 riyals,” said Mohammed Awad, a Yemeni citizen.
Local sources told AWP that bread prices have similarly increased in areas controlled by the Houthis, given the rise in the price of flour and the steep decline in the value of the Yemeni riyal.