Regular Press Briefing by the Information Service, 27 November 2018 – Yemen food stock
Yemen: food stocks
Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:
““Over the past two weeks, operations at Hudaydah port have decreased by nearly half. Shipping companies appear to be reluctant to call at Hudaydah port because of the high levels of insecurity in the city.
As 70 percent of imports come in through Hudaydah port, a decrease in food coming through the port would likely impact food stocks country wide—Yemen needs 250,000 megatons (mt)/month of wheat stocks in the country.
The Yemeni population not receiving food assistance from the World Food Programme and other international organizations- around 20 million people at the moment- are dependent on the commercial market to feed their families.
If this situation persists or further deteriorates, it will have a drastic impact on food availability and prices in the markets and make it increasingly difficult for Yemeni families to cover their basic needs.
WFP continues to call on all parties to protect the port of Hudaydah, which is a vital lifeline for humanitarian as well as commercial deliveries into Yemen. Any disruptions to the port operations would hamper humanitarian efforts to prevent famine as well as increase food prices in markets even further, making it extremely difficult for the majority of Yemenis to feed their families
Operations at Hudaydah port have decreased by 47 percent over the past two weeks. During ‘normal conflict times,’ over a two-week period around 200,000 mt bulk wheat and bagged cargo offload at Hudaydah port, while over the past two weeks only five vessels carrying 114,000 mt of bulk wheat and bagged cargo have done so.
Since November 2017, vessels with WFP and commercial containerized cargo have not accessed Hudaydah port and have been diverted to Aden, where there is currently a two-month backlog due to clearance procedures.
Concerned authorities within the Government of Yemen are taking concrete actions to streamline and improve efficiency.
In Aden, WFP alone has about 1,700 containers awaiting clearance and has incurred demurrage charges of some USD 2 million. About 10,000 commercial containers are also awaiting clearance. Alternative options, such as through Salalah, will increase cost and transport times.
There is commercial food stock in Yemen for 2.5 months.
WFP is waiting for the results of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification survey to determine the number of people we will provide with monthly rations of life-saving food and nutrition support. We already know that additional capacity will be needed.
WFP is in the process of increasing the use of Aden port as well as Salalah Port in Oman to ensure that all people in Yemen who are on the brink of famine receive monthly food rations from WFP. We need every corridor, road and bridge to remain open to ensure we can consistently assist the hungriest people throughout the country.
Once again, WFP continues to call on all parties to protect the port of Hudaydah, which is a vital lifeline for humanitarian as well as commercial deliveries into Yemen. Any disruptions to the port operations would hamper humanitarian efforts to prevent famine as well as increase food prices in markets even further making it extremely difficult for the majority of Yemenis to feed their families.“
In answer to questions from journalists, Mr. Verhoosel said that the United Nations had recently announced that up to 14 million people in Yemen could soon be on the brink of famine. WFP had enough food stocks in the country to last two months without any reduction in rations, and was doing everything possible to divert capacity to ports other than Hudaydah and adapt its distribution system. It was concerned that the private sector was not able to bring food stocks into the country through Hudaydah port. It was calling on all parties to provide reassurances so that all Yemenis would be given the possibility of feeding their families.
Responding to questions from journalists, Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, had issued a statement when visiting Hudaydah the previous week, indicating that agreement had been reached that the United Nations should actively and urgently pursue detailed negotiations for a leading role in supervising the port activities. It was believed that such a role would preserve the essential humanitarian pipeline that started there and would serve the people of Yemen. It was also hoped that it would contribute to international efforts to increase the capacity and effectiveness of port operations. On Monday 26 November, the Special Envoy had met in Riyadh with Yemeni Government officials to discuss the proposed consultations with the parties in Sweden; he was in Amman on Tuesday 27 November, continuing his dialogue with the parties to find solutions to the dilemma.