The recent Israeli airstrikes on multiple sites in Yemen, including Hodeidah Port in the north, could have devastating consequences, potentially further worsening the humanitarian situation in the country, an United Nations official said on Friday.
On Dec 19, Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets in northern Yemen, resulting in the destruction of two major power stations in the capital, Sanaa, and several ports along the coast of the Red Sea.
A total of three ports in Hodeidah Province were affected by the airstrikes: the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef, and Ras Isa.
On Thursday, Israel launched another round of airstrikes targeting key infrastructure and Houthi-controlled sites in Sanaa and Hodeidah, according to media reports.
Julien Harneis, UN resident coordinator in Yemen, stated that 80 percent of food and nearly 90 to 95 percent of medical supplies needed in northern Yemen rely on Hodeidah Port for passage, making the port extremely important.
He emphasized that if the port were to break down, it would have catastrophic consequences, leading to a rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
"So, the airstrikes some days ago which destroyed the two tugs was estimated to reduce the harbor capacity by 50 percent. Now, we don't know how long that reduction in capacity will be and we have yet to done a thorough analysis of what the impact of yesterday's airstrikes. So, we're still collecting information and trying to understand that," Harneis said.
The UN predicts that by 2025, the population in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen will rise to 19 million people. If the internal conflict in Yemen persists, this situation may worsen even further, Harneis noted.
Israeli airstrikes on Yemen may trigger devastating consequences: UN official
Israeli airstrikes on Yemen may trigger devastating consequences: UN official
Israeli airstrikes on Yemen may trigger devastating consequences: UN official
China's marketing service system for agricultural products has been further improved so far this year, as a result of in-depth implementation of the program for cultivating high-quality agricultural brands.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, in collaboration with 20 of the 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland, has spearheaded the development of 33 national-level farm produce markets and approved the designation of 663 farm produce wholesale markets so far in 2024. Besides, a first batch of 55 key counties (or county-level cities) have been designated to build cold-chain logistics hubs in them, along with the establishment of 500 cold-chain collection and distribution centers.
These efforts are intended to create essential cold-chain circulation hubs linking urban and rural areas while building integrated service platforms that seamlessly connect production with marketing.
In Yongxing County, central China's Hunan Province, farmers were busy harvesting and packing fresh oranges from a 200-mu (approximately 13.33 hectares) orchard for delivery to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in south China, one of China's most economically vibrant regions.
To make sure that the oranges reach consumers faster, the local postal service has established "mobile courier points" in the fields during the harvest season. These facilities bring shipping services directly to the orchards, streamlining processes and addressing challenges such as excessive transit links, high fruit damage rates, and delivery delays.
"A mobile courier point like this one handles over 10,000 parcels daily, with the peak volume reaching around 30,000. We also allocate delivery vehicles based on the orchard size. Currently, over 30 delivery vehicles are dispatched to the orchards daily," said Zhou Xin, a staff member at the Yongxing branch of China Post.
Beyond these mobile facilities, the region has established over 30 fixed service stations so far this year, extending courier services to more villages. These advancements enable agricultural products to be packaged and shipped directly from the fields.
Across China's rural areas, over 100 million parcels now move in and out daily, with express delivery services covering 90 percent of villages.
Looking ahead, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs plans to further enhance logistics infrastructure, promote the cultivation and protection of competitive agricultural brands, and accelerate transition from the adoption of traditional sales methods to the application of modern distribution systems.
China's marketing service system for farm produce further improved
