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Yemen: Houthis raise bread price 25%

March 4, 2021 at 1:07 pm

A displaced Yemeni child, eats bread at a school turned into a shelter in the capital Sanaa on 19 August 2015. [MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images]

Yemen’s Houthis have approved a new price increase for wheat flour across the country’s capital Sanaa and neighbouring governorates under the group’s control.

Local media quoted public workers as saying that a bag of flour had risen from 13,000 riyals ($51.93) to more than 15,000 ($59.92), noting the flour supply had “shrunk remarkably”.

They also warned that the disappearance of flour from markets would lead to a “continuous price increase and the creation of a new black market for this basic food commodity.”

“The recent developments have led to an increase in the price of a loaf of bread from 20 riyals ($0.08) to 25 riyals ($0.1),” the workers added, pointing out that the loaf size was also smaller, going from “27 grammes (0.06 pounds) to only 20 grammes (0.04 pounds).”

The price increase has led to a rise in bread production cost, forcing some of local outlets out of business.

READ: Houthis accuse US of prolonging war in Yemen