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Crisis in Yemen: Wheat and fuel prices fluctuate according to areas of control

An increase in the prices of wheat flour and diesel in #Hadramout #South_Yemen during 2023 compared to 2022.

الأسعار في اليمن تؤثر على القمح
A wheat field in Hadramout

The Yemen Price Block Bulletin, published by the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network, displays the amount of price change, increase or decrease, in Yemen's primary marketplaces by May 2023 compared to 2022. According to regions of control, the cost of food and fuel in Yemen alternated between stability and rise throughout the first quarter of this year.


The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is one of the worst in the world.


Wheat flour is a basic diet for the majority of Yemeni families. Sorghum and rice are frequently used as substitutes. Families rely significantly on imported wheat supplies that reach the regional trading centers of Sana'a, Al Hudaydah, and Aden City - vital markets that supply other urban and rural areas.


Although the recent drop in the degree of war in Yemen reduces transportation costs, which could have a good impact on food prices in general, the lack of income and humanitarian relief in general, as well as the distance from food supplies, intensify Yemen's humanitarian catastrophe.


Aden, located in a trade deficit area, is the southern region's reference market and the largest wholesale market with a huge storage capacity. In the country's most populous region, where most households rely on basic food markets, Al Hudaydah is a major wholesale and retail aggregation and trading market. Sana'a is a wholesale and retail market for families in northern and central Yemen, whereas Seiyun is a reference market in the east.


The exchange rate between the Yemeni riyal and the US dollar influences prices in Yemen. There are presently two exchange rates, separated by monetary governance between Sana'a's authority (the Houthis) and the internationally recognized government. The Yemeni riyal's currency worth has varied in recent years due to a variety of factors, including strong seasonal demand, greater overseas commerce, and trade policy.


The table below shows the price differences in wheat and diesel materials in Yemen between 2023 (till May) and 2022:

increase/decrease

commodity

Governorate

increase

wheat

Aden

decrease

diesel

Aden

increase

wheat

Sana'a

decrease

increase

Sana'a

decrease

wheat

Al Hudaydah

decrease

diesel

Al Hudaydah

increase

wheat

Hadramout

increase

diesel

Hadramout

For more details and charts please click here.


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