Sri Lanka Crisis: India sends 40,000 tons of rice to Sri Lanka in its first major food aid shipment

*Paromita Das

Two officials told Reuters on Saturday that Indian traders had begun loading 40,000 tons of rice for immediate shipment to Sri Lanka, the first major food aid shipment since Colombo secured a credit line from New Delhi.

The 22-million-person Indian Ocean island nation is struggling to pay for essential imports after a 70 percent drop in foreign exchange reserves in two years caused a currency devaluation and efforts to seek assistance from global lenders.

The shipment of the staple arrives just in time for a major festival in Sri Lanka.
As Sri Lanka’s government prepares for talks with the International Monetary Fund amid concerns about the country’s ability to repay foreign debt, fuel is in short supply, food prices are skyrocketing, and protests have erupted.

Last month, India, the world’s largest rice exporter, agreed to provide a $1 billion credit line to help alleviate crippling shortages of essential items such as fuel, food, and medicine.

The rice shipments could assist Colombo in lowering rice prices, which have more than doubled in a year, fueling the unrest.

“Rice loading has begun in southern ports,” B.V. Krishna Rao, managing director of Pattabhi Agro Foods, which is supplying rice to Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corp under the Indian Credit Facility Agreement, said.
“We’re loading containers first for quick shipments, and vessel loading will begin in a few days.”

Following violent protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a nationwide state of emergency late Friday.