Rising price will increase the number of poor by 6 percent, says report

Fewer customers can afford to buy foodstuffs in Yemen’s once busy marketplace.

Price increases are a nightmare for the poor not only in Yemen but all over the world. Prices are increasing every day. Rising costs of wheat and its production during the current year will increase the number of poor people by 6 percent, according to a report issued by the International Bank. The same report describes the price increases of foodstuffs as the toughest obstacle for the poor, who often spend more than half of their income on food. 

The result of family budget surveys showed that the rate of poverty decreased by 5 percent in 2005-2006 to 35 percent ,compared to 40 percent in the 1998. The survey stated that poverty in the cities decreased from 32 percent in 1998 to 21 percent in 2006, while the decrease in rural areas was insignificant; poverty in the countryside decreased from 42 percent in 1998 to only 40 percent in 2006. 

The report carried out by the International Bank explained the factors behind the price increases. One factor is the increasing price of energy products and fertilizers, as well as droughts in Australia and other countries. 

People are suffering from this rise in prices, especially with regards to foodstuffs. Many Yemenis have low salaries, and must find a way to spread this low income on many basic necessities, not only food. “My husband died three years ago, leaving me with three children who are in need of many things,” said Nabeeha Badr, a primary school teacher. She said that her salary is not enough to provide her children with all their needs. When she went to the Ministry of Agriculture in order to get her husband’s salary, hoping they would help her, but they refused to give it to her. 

Badr said that when her children become sick, she does not take them to the doctor. “My smallest daughter is sick, but I could not take her to a doctor because I do not have money. I hardly provide them with food and educational needs.”  Badr said that she does not care about President Saleh’s election program. What she cares about is providing her children with essential needs. “Prices are increasing every day whilst salaries are the same; they are not increased. I wonder how can I overcome this troubling condition and offer my children a comfortable life,” she says. Members of parties other than the General People’s Congress (GPC) say that what is happening now in regards to the increase of prices is due to the ignorance of the government. “Yes, prices increase because of international price increases, which force the economies of other countries worsen, but the Yemeni economy was bad before these international changes,” said  Joint Meeting Parties spokesman, Mohammed al-Sabri.

Al-Sabri said that the continuation of price increases in Yemen is the result of the absence of laws and morals. Traders are not moralistic, he says, what they care about is their own interests; they do not care about the interests of citizens. He adds that there is not a law which protects citizens and provides them with their basic needs of food.

“The current poor condition of the Yemeni economy is because of bad management as well as a lack of local and national produce [and profiteering the national resources],” said al-Sabri. He said countries that do not take advantage of their national wealth are exposed to damage from international changes.      

Merchants selling goods at a marketplace.

Al-Sabri said that Yemen does not have a real government which can control the current bad situation. Therefore, there will not be a solution to the price increases. When there exists a country with proper governance, he says, many solutions will be found to make the country better.

Members of the parliament agree with al-Sabri and say that even if price increases are international and cannot be controlled by one country, the Yemeni government should do something to protect its residents and provide them with dignity in  life. 

“Price increases are international; [they occur] all over the world, but poverty is not international,” said Islah Party Member of Parliament Fuad Dahaba. “It is true that price increases occur all over the world, but each government must defend its residents and try to do something [to help them],”said Dahaba. He said that there are many things that the government has to do in order to help its residents in the face of rising prices. 

Firstly, according to Dahaba, the government has to make use of its national resources instead of importing products, particularly their simple needs, from other countries. Secondly, the government must provide people with free services which will help them to save money. Dahaba said that Yemen has national wealth which other countries do not have. He wonders how those countries manage to overcome price increases whilst Yemen cannot. “Why are we suffering from poverty and hunger while other countries that do not have as many resources as ours are living comfortable lives?” he asks.

Dahaba says that the government must increase salaries to help people avoid hunger. “Why do prices increase everyday while salaries are stable and are not increased? There are strategies to limit poverty, but what happens is that these strategies are not applied; they are just ink on paper,” Dahaba says.

Dahaba says that if the current government cannot defend its citizens, it should resign and leave the rule to one who is able to protect this country. “If the government cannot do its duty in the right way and help people be comfortable, it should resign,” he says. “There should be a law to punish those who try to make use of the national wealth for their own interests, leaving residents with nothing. Why is the income of the country put in the pocket of thieves while others are dying due to poverty and hunger? If those thieves were stopped, citizens would be given the chance to live comfortable lives,” added Dahaba.  

The GPC justified price increases due to international changes, not because of local changes. “All people know that price increases are happening all over the world, not only in Yemen; it is not because of the government. The government is trying its best do something to stop this phenomenon. For example, the government is trying not to take customs fees from traders as a way to fight price increases,” said Tarq al-Shami, press officer for the GPC. 

Al-Shami said that the government is also trying to provide markets with essentials needs. The government called upon the Yemeni Economic Institution to import wheat in order to stop the monopoly, as well as for an increase in salaries, said al-Shami. The government has presented all of these ideas as ways to face international price increases. These are not merely ink on paper, says al-Shami, but the government has started to implement some of these initiatives, such as waiving customs fees.

Officials from the Ministry of Trade say that the increase of prices in the world reflects on Yemen’s prices. “Yemen is a consumer country [that imports from other countries]. Moreover, the products which are locally produced are affected by the increasing price of raw materials, such as oil.  However, prices are different from one country to another, prices have increased all over the world whether due to the increasing of oil prices or because of other reasons,” said Salem al-Ma’mari, director of the operation room that controls prices in the Ministry of Trade. 

Al-Ma’mari said that price increases in Yemen might be due to the international price increases. He previously told the Yemen Observer that not all Yemeni traders import their goods from one country and one trader, which means they import goods at different prices, depending on the traders from whom they import.

“Yes, traders do not import from only one foreign trader, which means that they buy their goods at different prices, but also there are Yemeni traders who import goods of poor quality at lower prices and surely sell them on the Yemeni market at lower prices,” said al-Ma’mari. He pointed out that prices are controlled by quality; those goods of better quality are sold at higher prices.  

“We have freedom in trade regarding market conditions; because of that the government cannot set a certain price for goods. But the government tries to do something when some try to monopolize goods,” said al-Ma’mari, adding that there is no honor among traders. “For example, bread is an essential foodstuff for many. Therefore, when its price increased, the government tried to do something. We at the Ministry of Trade talked to the owners of bakeries in order to sell bread by the scale,” al-Ma’mari said.

Some bakers implemented this method while others still have not. As a result, the Ministry asked a group of its employees to supervise the bakeries and monitor who has implemented this strategy.   

Traders also agree with the government’s justify and say that price increases is due to international changes. “Foodstuff prices are increased all over the world, and we are forced to have these stuff form Yemeni traders who import these things form foreigners traders [who are behind this price increases],” said Abdullah al-Washli, a trader. He said that prices are increased everyday. “The bag of wheat was sold by 6,500 YR three days ago, but today we bought the bag of wheat by 7,000 YR which means that prices are on the increase.” 

Al-Washli said that some traders sell a product with a certain price while other traders sell it by fewer prices. “Some traders are greed. Thus, they try to abuse the conditions and sell products by higher price then it is in the market. There are traders who sell their products by fewer prices [that is not because they are not greedy] because they still have goods with the pervious price in stores. For that reason, they sell their goods with the price before increasing.”   

Related Content

•  US Embassy announces Fulbright Program
•  Freedom of Press worldwide and the Yemen case
•  Price hikes of food impact Yemeni living standards
•  Yemeni finalist wins IYPE 2008 award
•  Women’s development organization launches in Marib
•  Orphan rate increases, conference modernizes care methods
•  Ceremony for signing production sharing Agreements shows Yemen’s strong oil future
•  Seedy hotels in Sana’a lure guests with pornography
•  Intellectuals’ crisis continues to face women
•  Ibn al-Amir school honors distinguished students