Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Ministry of Commerce under the Houthi group in Sana’a has canceled more than 4,000 commercial agencies, under the pretext of failing to renew permits, including agencies of international companies that deal with the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
According to the document issued by the Houthi group, the so-called Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment issued a decision to “cancel the registration of the attached commercial agencies, numbering 4,225 commercial agencies” on the grounds that their permits had not been renewed for three years.
Informed sources revealed that a number of international agencies had faced significant harassment throughout the past period, which escalated unprecedentedly, ending with the cancellation of those agencies. They confirmed that many global goods and equipment have been replaced with inferior industries affiliated with the group.
The sources stated that “Danish mills” were prevented from entering their areas of control, and they established workshops lacking even the most basic industrial workshop requirements, where they manufacture local mills and sell them at the price of the Danish product, which is known to last for about 50 years.
The sources indicated that they fought against the “Volvo” agency and prevented the import of spare parts under the flimsy pretext that they were “Swedish,” while spare parts were being smuggled in. Now, they have permanently canceled the agency.
Economic expert Mustafa Nasr commented on the Houthi decision as a “massacre against commercial agencies,” affirming that international agencies deal with the recognized government and submit renewal documents to the ministry’s headquarters in Aden. He noted that many agencies and companies are forced to renew twice to avoid such decisions.
Nasr confirmed that the step is part of a trend by the Houthi group aimed at replacing them with companies and agencies belonging to the group and its prominent leaders, a move that reinforces the group’s economic dominance.
