BANGKOK, Dec 12 – Thailand will donate 500 tonnes of rice to the Philippines for distribution to people suffering from Typhoon Bopha which hit the southern island of Mindanao last week.
The Commerce Ministry informed the cabinet Tuesday that rice from this year’s second harvest will be shipped to the island country to help disaster-hit people who are facing shortages of food and medical supplies.
The assistance is a display of friendship from Thailand to a member country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In addition, the Philippines has been a long-time importer of Thai rice, both on a governmental and private sector basis, said deputy government spokesman Pakdiharn Himathongkam.
In the past five years, Thailand has donated rice to countries suffering from natural disasters including 1,000 tonnes to China for flash floods and an earthquake in 2007, 1,000 tonnes to Bangladesh after a cyclone in 2007, 660 tonnes to the Philippines after a typhoon in 2010 and 20,000 tonnes to Haiti after its earthquake in 2010.
