Yemen: Shipments at Hodeidah Port Down to 50 Percentage

Around 50 percent of the shipment of food to Yemen has been cut as many ships are refusing to dock at the country’s port of Hodeidah due to the escalation of fighting, UN said. As explained, shipping companies appear to be reluctant to call at Hodeidah as they see the insecurity in the port.

“Over the last two weeks, the activities have been cut by half.  If this continues, it will have a drastic and immediate impact, not only on WFP’s availability to distribute food but also on prices in local markets,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary‑General, said.

With the port receiving around 70 percent of imports, a decrease in deliveries of wheat and other supplies would affect food stocks in Yemen, Al Jazeera cited a spokesperson of UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) as saying.

The multi-year conflict in Yemen is pushing millions of people to the brink of famine. According to WFP’s data, some 17.8 million Yemenis are food insecure, 8.4 million of which severely so.