The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka reported the arrival of a shipment of 500 metric tons of rice, donated for distribution to students in need on the Asian island.

The 50,000 packets of rice will be followed next week by another 50,000 kilos, which will complete China’s donation of six thousand tonnes.

The political and economic crisis experienced by the Sri Lankan people generated this aid from the Asian giant, which seeks to partially make up for the shortages of food and basic products caused by the lack of dollars in the Sri Lankan coffers.

This year Sri Lanka suffered the effects of the worst national economic situation in more than 70 years, aggravated by the impact of the rise in the prices of raw materials and commodities on international markets, reported Prensa Latina.

A report by the UN World Food Programme warned that four out of 10 households in the island nation are going hungry.

Another conflict is the lack of energy. Coal tenders for power plants have been put on trial, adding further delays to the already collapsing supply chains.

Despite this, the ship carrying the first 60,000 tonnes of coal, of the five shipments expected to arrive in the next few days, began unloading today, according to the Ministry of Energy.