Yemen: Food prices rose 10% during the month of June
English - Wednesday 26 August 2020 الساعة 04:54 pm
Aden, Newsyemen, Exclusive:
The local currency, the Riyal, continues to decline to frightening new lows this year, with food prices rising more than 10 percent in June alone.
The country has seen a spike in the cost of food and other basic necessities, causing many people to resort to harmful practices such as limiting food consumption and even some families sending their children to work or begging to be able to buy food.
The cost of living in Yemen has quadrupled since 2015, and the cost of the food basket has increased by 123% compared to pre-war prices, while jobs have nearly halved, and although food is available, the majority of Yemenis cannot afford it.
Economists expected that the prices of imported food commodities will continue to rise more in line with the inflation of the riyal, as a result of the current Houthi measures against the economy, the narrowing of supplies between the provinces, and the black market trade in oil derivatives.
A recent poll conducted by the International Rescue Committee in Yemen showed that the income of Yemenis has decreased by about 30 percent since the beginning of the Corona epidemic, which continues to spread, with the weak capacities of the health sector in the country.
Fuel prices also jumped sharply despite the decline in global oil prices, as higher fuel prices lead to an increase in the cost of other basic goods and services, such as water or transportation to health centers.
The exchange rate is still at crisis levels, 795 riyals to the dollar in Aden and 603 riyals to the dollar in Sanaa, and food prices are rising, and few people can afford them.
The survey found that Yemenis are more concerned about hunger than they are about the Corona epidemic, while more than 68 percent of respondents indicated an increase in the prices of goods, especially food.
62 percent of the respondents stated that they are unable to afford the costs of basic household items such as food and water, while 51 percent of respondents cited high food prices as one of their main concerns.
A recent IPC survey issued by the World Food Program showed that acute food insecurity will rise from the current 25% of the population to 40% by the end of the year in the areas covered by the survey.
