HCMC – The General Department of State Reserves under the Ministry of Finance announced on September 24 that 56,555 tons of rice from the national rice reserve will be sent to HCMC to support residents affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The department has signed contracts with the Phat Tai Company Limited in Dong Thap Province, the Thuan Minh Import-Export Joint Stock Company in HCMC and the Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company in Can Tho City to provide the rice to HCMC.
Phat Tai, Thuan Minh and Trung An will supply 25,000 tons, over 22,400 tons and over 9,100 tons of rice, respectively.
The HCMC State Reserve Department is responsible for collaborating with the local authorities to distribute the rice to people in need.
On August 17, the People’s Committee of HCMC sent a document to the prime minister, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs asking for 142,200 tons of rice to support disadvantaged people in the city.
The Government on August 20 approved the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs’ proposal to provide 130,175 tons of rice from the national rice reserve to the cities and provinces hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic.
HCMC, which is the nation’s biggest Covid-19 hotspot with 359,245 cases confirmed by September 24, will be allocated the largest amount of rice with over 71,100 tons for some 4.74 million residents.
As of September 10, the General Department of State Reserves had distributed more than 14,500 tons of rice from the national reserve to the city.
Besides HCMC, Binh Duong is provided with 11,325 tons of rice, Dong Thap with 5,883 tons, Can Tho with 5,015 tons, Binh Thuan with 4,018 tons, An Giang with 3,362 tons and Dong Nai with 3,100 tons.
Tien Giang, Ca Mau, Ben Tre, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Kien Giang, Vinh Long, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Tra Vinh, Danang, Binh Dinh, Long An, Ninh Thuan, Dak Nong, Daklak, Nghe An and Tay Ninh receive 336-3,000 tons of rice each.
