Israeli newspaper Hayom stated that the operations of the Sana’a forces ring the alarm bells for significant repercussions, including the possible suspension of maritime shipping to Israel, resulting in higher prices for imported products by sea. It is expected that this trend will significantly increase and harm Israelis and their food security.
Follow ups / Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
According to the newspaper, Israel may face serious economic repercussions from the seizure of businessman Rami Ungar’s “Galaxy Leader” ship. The primary worry is that this incident would result in greater insurance costs and possibly even the cancellation of routes to Israel, which would raise the cost of sea transit to Israel. This could therefore lead to increased costs for goods imported by sea.
The newspaper quoted Nir Goldstein, CEO of the Israeli research institute GFI, saying, “The damage caused by the Houthis to ship routes can have a strategic impact on imports to Israel, especially in the food industry. Since the beginning of the fighting, we have seen shipping companies’ reluctance to dock in Israel, along with an increase in insurance and maritime transportation prices to Israel. Now, it is expected that this trend will significantly increase and harm Israeli food security.”
Goldstein added, “Over 70% of our food is imported by sea, primarily 85% of livestock. It comes to us through ships via the ports of Eilat, Ashdod, and Haifa. These three ports or the access routes to them are threatened by our enemies, and we must be prepared for that. The Houthis threaten the entrance to the Red Sea, through which ships from Australia carry 15% of veal imports to Israel.”
According to him, the bottom line is that the combination of fighting in Ataf and Lebanon (where most chickens are raised), the shortage of labor, and the damage to maritime imports will lead to an increase in meat, chicken, and egg prices. Today, Israelis pay 40% more than Europeans for meat, and this gap is likely to increase significantly in the coming months.
The newspaper also quoted Chen Herzog, Chief Economist at the BDO consulting company, as talking about the wide-ranging consequences that may arise as a result of the seizure of the Israeli ship. According to him, “the economic concern stems from the wide-ranging impact on maritime transportation to Israel. Following the war, there was already a significant increase in air transportation prices due to damage to foreign companies’ flights to Israel. The fear now is of a similar increase in maritime transportation costs to Israel due to higher insurance or the cancellation of routes to Israel as well. Transportation prices have an impact on the cost of living by increasing the prices of imported goods, as well as the possibility of delivery delays to Israel.”
Today, the Sana’a forces announced the seizure of an Israeli ship in the Red Sea, which has been taken to the Yemeni coast as part of their ongoing support for Palestine and deterring aggression on the Gaza Strip.
جميع الحقوق محفوظة للخبر اليمني ٢٠٢١م