By: Alhussein Al-Yazidi & Takrim Othman
The bakeries’ owners in the capital Sana’a, under the authority of the Houthi group [Ansar Allah], are subjected to organized extortion by the Industry and Trade Office members under the pretext of violating the pricing criteria.
The capital city, with its ten districts, has about 700 bakeries, including 25 automatic bakeries and 675 manual bakeries, according to the Industry and Trade Office, which supervises the operation and production of all bakeries across the capital.
On November 2, 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the Houthi government approved selling one kilogram of bread for YR450, a decision the owners of bakeries rejected. The owners insist on selling per piece or raising the price of one kilogram to YR600.
When inspectors from the Industry and Trade Office check the weight of the bread and find it less than the approved weight, they record the violation. Then the extortion process begins. The owners and inspectors start bargaining on the fine that is paid without a receipt, according to the bakeries’ owners.
A bakery owner in Sana’a told Al-Mushahid, “The pricing of the Industry and Trade Office was not based on accurate assessment of the bread cost. The Office’s pricing is imposed on us, costing us huge losses.”
He said that they are threatened with losing their source of livelihood if they refuse to adhere to the price set by the Industry and Trade Office.
He added, “The Industry and Trade Office penalizes us if we do not apply the set price. The punitive measures include a fine, closure of the bakery, or threats to withdraw work licenses.”
Refusing to sell per kilo
Abdu al-Turabi, a resident in Sanaa, describes the misery caused by the bread price hikes, saying, “It has become more difficult when the bread price rose to YR25. Yesterday, I tried to buy a kilogram of bread from … a bakery in the Shamlan area. They told me that the price of one kilo is YR600 riyals. This has exhausted me, and I can no longer provide enough bread for my family daily.”
Hamed al-Maqri, another resident in Sanaa, also shared the same ordeal. He said, “I suffer a lot to afford to buy bread, which barely fends off the hunger of my wife and children, given the continued rise of the bread price.”
He added, “I do not know why the size of the bread loaves is getting smaller, and its weight is constantly decreasing. The quality of the bread has also decreased as if the bakery owners deliberately increase the yeast to reduce production costs.”
Citizens’ complaints about the price of bread in Sanaa led us to check the issue by ourselves. So, a field visit was made to make sure of the matter. It was found that bakeries do not sell bread per kilogram, and if they agree, they sell it for YR600.
The two writers of this report talked with some bakeries’ owners, and they said the price set by the Industry and Trade Office is unfair, and it cannot help them keep their businesses afloat. The bakeries’ owners also said flour and diesel prices have risen, and electricity fees and operation costs have jumped. Therefore, they are obliged to sell the bread per piece, YR25 for one loaf, they said.
While the bakeries’ owners have many justifications for the high price of bread, countless citizens continue to experience a huge difficulty in making ends meet as the price of the 50-kilogram sack of flour is about YR17,200, an amount that can be hard to get for many breadwinners.
Extorting bakeries’ owners
Bandar Al-Duais, the Deputy Head of the Bakeries Division in the Chamber of Commerce, said the pricing set by the Industry and Trade Office is unfair to the owners of bakeries, and it was imposed without a prior assessment to determine the bread production costs. Neither the citizen nor the owner of the bakery will be wronged, Al-Duais said.
Al-Duais added that the Industry and Trade Office approved the selling price of bread without the knowledge or approval of the Bakeries Division in the Chamber of Commerce.
He indicated that such a decision was to extort the bakeries’ owners, as the latter would not be able to abide by the imposed price because it would cause them a financial loss.
“ The Industry and Trade Office knows that any attempt to implement the decision will not succeed, and it will continue to practice its continued extortion, fines, and closures,” said Al-Duais.
On the other hand, the Deputy Director of the Bakeries Division in the Industry and Trade Office, Youssef Al-Sunini, told Al-Mushahid that all automated bakeries are committed to selling one kilogram for YR500, indicating some bakeries weigh the bread and pack it in bags beforehand to be ready for sale.
Al-Sunini rejected the complaints of the bakeries’ owners, saying that a joint assessment of the production cost was done. Based on that, he said, the price of one kilogram of bread was set at YR500, adding that those who complain about this pricing are the ones who want to increase the suffering of the citizen.
There is an apparent contradiction between the statements of the Industry and Trade Office and the bakeries’ owners. Citizens suffer amidst this situation.
Informed sources that asked to remain unnamed told Al-Mushahid that the Industry and Trade Office secretly extorts the owners of bakeries by forcing them to pay money under the pretext of fines, and these fines are not handed over to the state treasury as required by law.
Mayor’s office responds
Dabwan Farhan, the representative of the Bakeries’ Owners Syndicate, told Al-Mushahid that the owners of the bakeries submitted their grievances about the new price (YR500) to the Office of the Mayor of the Capital, demanding the conduct of a review and an assessment of bread price, but they received no response.
While the Industry and Trade Office says it conducted a joint assessment of the price of bread per kilogram, Farhan denied that, saying the Office randomly prepared the study without the presence of the representative of the bakeries’ owners.
Farhan said there is a need for a new joint review of the bread price, but the Industry and Trade Office refuses to respond.
He added that they have a memorandum issued by the Mayor’s office to the Industry and Trade Office, dated November 23, 2021, in which the Undersecretary of the Capital Secretariat for the Services Sector instructs the Industry and Trade Office to form a joint committee to conduct an actual study to determine the costs of producing bread and the price of selling it to citizens. However, the Office still refuses the implementation of the directive.
The report’s authors went to the Industry and Trade Office, informing them of the directive of the Undersecretary of the Capital Secretariat for the Services Sector, Abdel Fattah Al-Sharafi. The Office showed a study that they said was recent and that it was carried out jointly with bakery owners. However, the representatives of the bakeries’ owners (Al-Duais and Farhan) denied being involved in such a study. When we asked the Office to give us a copy of the study or to allow us to photograph it, they utterly refused.
The authors of the report obtained a complaint note dated 17/11/2021, which was filed by the bakeries’ owners to the Mayor of the Capital and the Minister of Industry and Trade, complaining about the practices of the Industry and Trade Office.
The bakeries’ owners said in the complaint that the Industry and Trade Office summoned them to sign a study that the Office conducted without their participation or taking their opinion. The study approved selling one kilogram of bread for YR500.
However, on November 28, 2021, the Industry and Trade Office circulated the new pricing (YR500 for a kilogram of bread). Field visits by the Office inspectors were initiated, and those who violated the pricing or sold per piece were arrested.
The Industry and Trade Office still insists that it has conducted a joint study in implementing the directive of the Undersecretary of the Capital Municipality, which was done based on the demands of the owners of bakeries.
