Director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Office for Communication with Russia, Oleg Kobyakov, said that the situation in Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea will affect food trade and lead to higher prices.
He added, “The Houthis’ siege of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea is negatively affecting global food trade. The cost of shipping ships traveling on this route has nearly quadrupled, and the transport of goods has decreased by 30%.”
The head of the FAO office explained that the largest shipping companies in the world “refused to deliver goods through the Red Sea,” noting that this disrupted existing logistical chains and forced the owners of the goods to use a circuitous route, sending ships sailing between Asia and Europe around the Cape of Good Hope. The length of this road is 8,000 kilometers and extends from 10 to 14 days, according to Russia Today.
The cost of purchasing “additional fuel increases costs by another 15%. As a result, the price of products rises, leading to food price inflation and a decrease in the economic availability of food products to the end consumer,” he said.
Kobiakov referred to the statement of the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the World Food and Agriculture Organization, Maximo Torero, who announced before the expert group of the Global Food and Agriculture Forum last January in Berlin, that “there are increasing risks that we face in the Red Sea, risks that we face in the Black Sea, and risks that we could face.” Due to the drop in water levels in the Panama Canal, which is a major artery for us to transport goods around the world.”
The United States and other countries have sent naval ships to protect civilian ships, while the United States and Britain are carrying out air strikes targeting the Houthis, who say their attacks come in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
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