An investigative report by Yemen Youth Net examines the details of the mystery surrounding the Harmal Company's flour shipment in Aden...between commercial oversight and hidden interests.

In the heart of Aden port, chapters of the flour shipment crisis, imported by Harmal General Trading Company, escalated after a journey full of obstacles, which began after it left the Arab Republic of Egypt safely last December, arriving in Djibouti for inspection, before heading to the port of Hodeidah, and then moving to the port of Aden, where its tragic chapters began, to recently end with its departure from Yemen..!!

The case, which was supposed to be a routine product safety inspection, devolved into a weeks-long legal and administrative controversy, punctuated by a widespread media campaign, amidst questions about the integrity of the procedures. This was particularly true given the apparent inconsistencies in the reports of the relevant regulatory authorities, which raised serious accusations of interference by parties seeking to influence the course of the case.

In this investigative report, Yemen Youth Net sheds light on the details of the crisis, its various parties, and the contradictions in official reports, along with its chronological path, while attempting to investigate the possibility of the existence of parties benefiting from this conflict, who had the upper hand in preventing the unloading of the shipment and its departure from Yemen to a neighboring country last Friday morning (March 7).

Background: Shipment and journey details

On December 11, 2024, the MARIAM M set sail from Egypt, carrying 5,000 tons of flour and corn starch. The ship initially headed to Djibouti for inspection under the UN Inspection and Verification Mechanism. After receiving permission to enter Yemen, it headed to the port of Hodeidah, where it arrived on December 31. However, it was denied permission, citing a ban on wheat imports from the Houthi-affiliated Ministry of Trade and Industry.

According to a responsible source in the company, the ship waited in the port of Hodeidah for about a week and a half, before leaving it on January 18, 2025, and remaining outside Yemeni waters until February 2nd of last year, and then headed to the port of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to refuel, and from there it headed directly to the port of Ma'alla in Aden, which it arrived at on February 16th.

This, according to a responsible source in the company, who spoke exclusively to "Yemeni Youth Net," would refute the circulating claims that the voyage took more than three months, or that it headed to Djibouti after leaving Hodeidah. The documents, provided by the importing company, confirmed that the voyage took only 67 days, from its departure from Egypt on December 11, 2024, until its arrival in Aden on February 16, 2025. (See below: Attachment No. 1, which includes two navigational maps showing the ship's route from its departure from Egypt until its arrival in the port of Aden.)

Subject the shipment to inspection

Following the shipment's arrival at Aden Port, the relevant authorities began inspection and testing procedures. These were undertaken by two government agencies, respectively: the General Authority for Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control, affiliated with the General Diwan in Aden, and the Agricultural Plant Quarantine Administration Office, affiliated with the Yemeni Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Aden.

What are the results reached by the two government agencies?

First: Standards and Metrology Organization:

According to the preliminary report issued by the Saudi Standards and Metrology Organization, dated February 17, 2025, a visual inspection revealed "serious problems" with imported flour, most notably: insect infestation, signs of rot resulting from decay, and damage to some bags due to seawater leakage, indicating poor storage, the report states.

Accordingly, the Authority was satisfied with a visual inspection to determine that the shipment did not conform to the required specifications and standards, by confirming the presence of weevils in the flour. Therefore, it decided to reject the entire shipment and prevent its unloading. (See below: Attachment No. 2, which includes copies of the Standards and Metrology Authority's report on the shipment.)

The above report raised objections from the importing company (Harmal General Trading Company), which requested an official "laboratory test" to prove the validity of the shipment.

 Second: Agricultural Quarantine Department Report:

Following this shocking result, and at the request of the importing company, the Agricultural Quarantine Department, affiliated with the Yemeni Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Fisheries, took samples from the shipment for laboratory testing. Contrary to the Standards Authority's report, the Agricultural Quarantine Department concluded that the shipment was "free of plant and quarantine pests," with only very mild infestations recorded in some bags.

Accordingly, the administration recommended allowing the shipment to be unloaded, while continuing to inspect it during unloading. (See below: Attachment No. 3, which includes a photocopy of the Agricultural Quarantine Office report)

The Ministry supports... and the company resorts to the judiciary

However, the Standards and Metrology Organization (SMO) insisted on its position of rejecting the shipment, a position supported by the Yemeni Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Minister Mohammed Al-Ashwal said in exclusive statements to Yemen Youth Net: “The General Authority for Standards and Metrology’s report confirms that the shipment is full of weevils, and therefore it was refused entry,” adding, “We agree with this opinion as it is the body responsible for inspection, and its technical report is the approved one.”

For the importing company, Harmal, this discrepancy between the two reports prompted it to adhere to the Agricultural Quarantine Department's report. This prompted it to file a complaint with the competent prosecution office at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry against what it described as "clear arbitrariness" by the Standards Authority, which refused to release the product "on the grounds that some weevils were present on parts of the shipment... without conducting an inspection." The company requested that the prosecution look into the complaint and "take legal action to preserve our rights and protect the interests and services of the citizen." (See below: Attachment No. 4 - a copy of the company's letter to the Public Prosecutor of Commerce and Industry)

The position of the prosecution:

The Public Prosecutor for Industry and Trade, Judge and Dr. Samia Al-Qabati, responded to this grievance, sending an official memorandum to the Yemeni Organization for Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control, dated February 20, 2025, requesting its information on the extent to which the Harmal flour shipment complied with standard specifications.

When the prosecution did not receive a response from the authority, it took the necessary legal action. In a subsequent memo, sent to the Standards and Metrology Authority, dated February 24, the public prosecutor emphasized that the public interest "requires verifying the validity of the seized quantity of flour," adding, "As we are about to welcome the holy month of Ramadan, and given the citizens' dire need for such essential goods and products, the public's interest prevails over all other interests, which requires subjecting the shipment to a laboratory examination, in accordance with established regulations and with swift procedures."

Accordingly, the Public Prosecution directed that the Specifications Authority direct its specialists “in partnership with specialists at the Food Research and Post-Harvest Technologies Center, to go to the port of Aden, take samples... and subject them to laboratory testing, and submit to us a detailed report that eliminates ignorance, so that we can complete the procedures in accordance with the law” (See below: Attachment No. “5” - a copy of the letter from the Deputy Public Prosecutor for Industry and Trade to the Specifications Authority)

The Standards Authority refuses

However, the Authority remained firm on its position, and its response to the Public Prosecution was decisive, by confirming that it had conducted the necessary laboratory tests and analyses and found that the shipment "did not conform to specifications," as stated in the response memorandum dated February 25. The memorandum emphasized that flour infected with a large insect infestation could not be detected by laboratory testing, considering that laboratory testing in such a case "is useless and merely opens the door to dispute," according to the memorandum, which attached to it the results of the technical examination previously conducted by the Authority. (See below: Attachment No. "6" - the Authority's response memorandum with technical attachments)

The source told Yemen Youth Net: "There are attempts to influence the Food Research Center to prevent it from sending the results, which have not yet been announced." He added: "We demand the immediate disclosure of the laboratory test results, and we affirm our commitment to the prosecution's decision, whatever the outcome." He added: "We are prepared to exclude any affected quantity, but rejecting the entire shipment due to limited damage is unjust and arbitrary."

Stopping the research center

An official (internal) document issued on March 5 by the Food Research Center, affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture, revealed pressure to prevent the issuance of any inspection reports for the shipment, via directives from the head of the General Authority for Agricultural Research and Extension. The directives stipulated that the center's operations be suspended as a result of it "receiving orders from the Public Prosecution for Industry and Trade to take flour samples... for testing and issuing results."

The document, titled "Disclaimer of Responsibility for Issuing Flour Shipment Test Results and Suspending the Center's Operations," included an apology from the center's general manager, Kamla Abdel Rashid, who requested that he be absolved of responsibility "for issuing any results due to your verbal suspension of us and your suspension of our work in the center's laboratories." (See below: Attachment No. 7 - a copy of the memorandum from the director of the Food Research and Post-Harvest Technologies Center)

The prosecution warns

In light of these obstacles, Public Prosecutor Samia Al-Qabati filed a complaint with the Chief Prosecutor of the South Aden Appeals Court on March 3, expressing her dissatisfaction with the interference of the Specifications Authority and the Food Research Center in obstructing the issuance of the center's final report. She noted that the Public Prosecution had officially addressed them in several memoranda, but had not received a response to date.

While the public prosecutor noted that the delay in announcing the results was hampering the investigation, she warned against lax decision-making, particularly given the discrepancy in testing reports between government laboratories and the company's private laboratories. (See Attachment 7 - Copy of the memorandum from the Public Prosecutor for Commerce to the President of the South Aden Court of Appeal)

Administrative error or conflict of interest?

From the above, it becomes clear that the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization and the Agricultural Quarantine Office each issued reports that contradict each other. This has sparked widespread legal and media controversy, raising several questions about:

• What are the standards adopted by the Standards Authority in its decisions?
• Why did the authority only conduct a theoretical inspection and refuse to conduct a laboratory test on the shipment?
• Why did the commission refuse to re-examine the matter, while other parties believed the damage was limited and could be isolated?

This has led some to wonder whether there is a commercial or political interest behind the insistence on rejecting the shipment. Is there a specific entity benefiting from the shipment's rejection, despite the dire need for it, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, as the Industry and Commerce Prosecution has confirmed?

These accusations open the door to speculation about the possibility of a conflict of interest within the regulatory authorities themselves, or perhaps pressure from other importers seeking to exclude their competitors in the wheat and flour market. This is what the responsible source at Harmal Company believed, believing that "there are parties benefiting from the ban on this shipment, and they are certainly competitors," adding, "Perhaps these competing parties in the market have influence in the government, or perhaps within the authority, to exclude their competitors."

Despite the passage of weeks since the samples were sent to the Agricultural Research Center for re-examination, the results of the testing and analysis have not been disclosed to date. In fact, testing has been halted entirely. This has fueled speculation about whether there are parties pressuring the release of the test results, fearing they might contradict the specifications and expectations promoted by the Standards and Metrology Authority.

Targeted media campaign

Since the shipment crisis erupted, an intense media campaign has spread on social media, accusing Harmal of attempting to introduce a "rotten" shipment to the market. This campaign appears to be directed, systematic, and unnaturally coordinated.

According to our observations, this campaign included articles, media reports, newspapers, and social media accounts, some of which adopted the Saudi Standards and Metrology Organization's position, asserting that the shipment was spoiled and should be destroyed immediately, with no need to wait for laboratory tests.

The matter even went beyond that, with analyses and news reports being published directly attacking Harmal, without providing any conclusive evidence, and even before the results of the obstructed laboratory analysis were released. This reinforces the notion that there are commercial competitors with an interest in embracing such a campaign.

A senior official at Harmal told Yemen Youth Net: "It's clear there's an organized campaign aimed at tarnishing our reputation, on the one hand, and pressuring the authorities to make hasty decisions before the results of the investigations are known, on the other."

However, the same source also does not rule out the possibility of a "conflict of interest" between officials within government agencies, or perhaps influential figures within the Egyptian Standards and Metrology Authority itself, which would prompt them to support the campaign to reject the shipment and obstruct the completion of the legal procedures demanded by the Public Prosecution for Commerce and Industry and the company.

In addition, the National Food Safety Authority in Egypt issued a certificate stating that:

• The shipment was produced in food facilities that are subject to the supervision of the competent authorities and are periodically inspected.

• The factory that produced the flour applies the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points ( HACCP ) system, which is an international standard for ensuring food safety.

• The product meets all necessary hygiene and health requirements, and there are no signs of damage or spoilage.

• The flour is approved for use in the food industry, which means it is suitable for human consumption.

(See below: Attachment “9” – Copies of the shipment’s safety and quality certificates)

Although these certificates prove that the shipment met specifications before leaving Egypt, the question remains: Why didn't the Yemeni government rely on these official reports and certificates issued by the exporting country?

However, some assert that inspection upon export does not necessarily reflect the condition of the shipment upon import, especially if it has been exposed to adverse natural conditions during transportation. This is the view of the Yemeni Standards Authority, which believes that local inspection is the decisive factor in determining the product's suitability, especially after the long journey the shipment took before arriving in Aden.

For Harmal Company, the existence of these certificates in and of itself adds an important legal dimension to the case, as the company could use them to appeal the rejection decision, especially if it is proven that the damage to some of the bags was the result of improper storage or transportation, rather than a defect in the product itself. This would have allowed for the exemption of only the damaged bags, rather than the entire shipment being rejected, as the company claims.

What is waiting for the shipment?

Amid conflicting reports, the intense and suspicious media hype, and the Standards Authority's refusal to re-examine and re-evaluate, the laboratory analysis results remain the decisive factor in this case.

Or that was likely what was supposed to happen before the company recently decided to give up and stop incurring further losses. On Friday morning, March 7, the company decided to divert its shipment to a neighboring country, after nearly three weeks of failed attempts.

While some dispute the Saudi Standards and Metrology Organization's position and insistence on rejecting the shipment, its role in preserving citizens' safety is highly sensitive. Therefore, once it discovered damage to a portion of the shipment, it was obligated to reject it entirely.

However, the failure to announce the results of the laboratory analysis and the insistence on obstructing it until now casts doubt on the validity of the Commission's position and places it in a controversial position.

Ultimately, this issue reflects a profound problem with trade oversight mechanisms and the extent to which official decisions are influenced by hidden interests and media pressure. Economic experts fear that the negative effects of these measures will impact future import operations, impacting the volume of import trade, particularly from the port of Aden, which has seen a significant decline in ship arrivals since the Houthi militias were allowed to import through the port of Hodeidah in 2022.