White meat was absent from Yemenis' weekly meal after poultry prices witnessed a significant increase, reaching nearly 80%, while most of the slaughterhouse owners were forced to close after their inability to keep pace with the huge increase and people's reluctance to buy.

The huge increase in prices sparked a wave of anger and ridicule on social media, after media reports attributed the crisis to the Houthi authorities imposing taxes on chicken entry to major cities at about 300 riyals per chicken (0.55 dollars).

However, the Houthi Tax Authority denied that it had imposed new fees, and said in a statement published by its tax information center that "these news and rumors are aimed primarily at creating confusion...".

The Houthi group has controlled the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the largest number of the country's governorates since September 2014, and since then it has been waging a war against the coalition and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, causing one of the worst humanitarian crises, according to United Nations reports.

Any official body that raises or imposes

a new tax on the needs of citizens is not acceptable and does


not work unless it is issued by a presidential decree, the government, or a law.


— Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi (@Moh_Alhouthi) May 13, 2022

missing a meal

Jamal, who works as a day laborer in a traditional factory for the production of handicrafts, returned home disappointed after he was unable to buy one kilogram of white meat, to replace him with a chicken of a smaller size that would not be enough for his family.

He told Al Jazeera Net, "The price of chicken remained close to lamb and beef. The price of one chicken with a kilogram weight reached 4,500 riyals ($8), while it was a few weeks ago at a price of 2,500 riyals. We do not know where to go amid this high, everything has become difficult for us." ".

Chicken meat is prepared on Jamal’s table every Friday, but with its high price, it seems that he may abandon it and be satisfied with imported chicken, although the latter is not popular among Yemenis due to the decline in its quality after being stored for a long time in poor conditions.

The prices of imported chicken also increased due to the recent crisis, and according to residents, the price of one kilogram increased by 600 riyals, or nearly one dollar, which prompted the Yemenis to share it in half in order to reduce the cost.

In recent years, a large sector has tended to invest in chicken production farms, after the war, the closure of outlets and the delay in the arrival of commercial shipments caused a shortage of imported chicken.

According to the annual statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Houthi government (unrecognized), the volume of animal production of white meat during the year 2020 amounted to 193 thousand tons, an increase of 6 thousand tons over the previous year, and 30 thousand tons since the outbreak of the war.

At the end of last year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sought to restore agricultural livelihoods, and provided 2,900 beneficiary families with 29,000 laying hens, 203 tons of poultry feed, and 2,900 materials and supplies for building poultry houses.

Markets closed

But the recent crisis forced the owners of poultry farms located in the vicinity of the capital, Sanaa, to close, and one of them told Al Jazeera Net - who preferred not to be identified for security reasons - that the authorities imposed new amounts on farmers and traders in the name of a tax, which prompted dozens of them to stop working.

He added, "These new fees were the straw that broke our backs after we incurred losses due to the high prices of feed, medicine and food for chickens."

The closure caused hundreds of people to lose their jobs in farms and poultry farming, and for weeks, the Ali Samer slaughterhouse has been closed in the Shumaila neighborhood, south of the capital, Sana’a, after its owner incurred heavy losses, losing his only source of income for his family of 8 members.

Samer told Al Jazeera Net, "I tried to withstand the crisis, but people's reluctance to buy prompted me to close, my local has not closed for 25 years, we are no longer able."

taxes and customs

On the other hand, Tariq Muhammad - an employee of a privately owned poultry farm - attributed the crisis to the death of 60% of poultry in the farms due to the spread of viruses, lack of medicines and the high prices of feed due to customs paid.

He denied that the Houthis had imposed taxes on poultry, but he told Al Jazeera Net that the authorities had imposed sums of money in exchange for so-called road improvements, as about 10,000 riyals (17 dollars) is imposed on the transport vehicle.

According to Ali al-Absi, director of financial resources in the government-controlled Taiz governorate, the tax law exempts poultry farming and trade from any financial fees, adding that the Houthi group imposes taxes on this sector in an illegal manner.

The import bill was affected by the conflict and tax and customs competition between the Houthi authorities and the Yemeni government, where customs duties and taxes on goods are imposed at the first import port in government-controlled areas, and then again at land customs centers in Houthi-controlled areas, and sometimes armed groups impose additional royalties .

Imposing taxes on commercial imports is one of the important sources of revenue collection for the Houthi authorities, as customs duties range between 30 and 50 percent on commercial imports coming from government-controlled areas, including poultry feed.