Yemen: Market Study 2010 | WPN World People News

Yemen is a net-food-importing country with an import dependency for 90% of its overall domestic wheat and 100% of its rice requirements, the country's two main staples. As such, Yemen's population suffered considerably during the 2007-2008 food price crisis. Although prices have decreased since the peak, they remain well above pre-crisis levels, continuing to erode the purchasing power of already poor households. The functioning of markets and the behaviour of traders play a pivotal role in ensuring household food security.

Imports constitute the most important source of availability of wheat and rice at the national level. The trends in imports related to demand and also in relation to the production of other important cereals such as maize and sorghum seem highly reactive and reflect that importers are reactive to the demand situation in-country. While production of sorghum and maize is very important in the rural areas to consumption, markets remain the most prevalent forum when looking at issues related to food access and food availability. Home consumption of own-produced crops is most prevalent in Dhamar, with a mere 13.2 percent of crops consumed on-farm, followed by Rayma (12.6 percent), Amran (9.9 percent) and Sana'a (9.2 percent).

Source:Relief Web