(EFE).- Cuba received a shipment of 5,000 tons of rice donated to Havana by the Government of China, according to what was reported on Tuesday by the island’s state press.
the official newspaper Granma described the gift as “an expression of the solidarity and friendship that characterize the relations of the Chinese Government, the Party and the Chinese people.”
The reception of the cereal is added to that sent by the Chinese company Yotung to the Caribbean country in February. On that occasion, the donation was 300 tons, with a value of more than 200,000 dollars, of that same food.
During its virtual intervention in a seminar of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC, the only legal one) and the Communist Party of China (PCCh) on March 23, the Cuban government underlined the interest in deepening and strengthening relations with the Asian country, a “long-term” and “high priority” bet for Havana.
The donation comes at a difficult time for rice production on the island. El Diario Granma reported at the end of February that the Caribbean country will barely produce 180,000 tons of rice this year, far from the 700,000 tons needed for national consumption, so it will have to import the remaining amount.
The Island (of 11.2 million inhabitants) imports between 60 and 70% of the food it consumes with an approximate expenditure of over 2,000 million dollars per year, according to official data.
Unicef has made several donations, ranging from syringes and refrigerators to ambulances, oxygen plants and ultrasound machines.
In the case of rice, its production was reduced due to the impact of the global economic crisis derived from the covid-19 pandemic and the tightening of the US embargo, the official newspaper noted.
This Tuesday, the Government of Cuba thanked Unicef for the delivery of 19 tons of powdered milk, a donation to strengthen the national health system in the context of the pandemic.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (Mincex), Deborah Rivas, thanked UNICEF on behalf of the Cuban Government “for its permanent and commendable effort to strengthen” the country’s health system, especially the centers dedicated to minors and pregnant women.
It is expected that the powdered milk will be distributed by pediatric centers in the western provinces of Cuba and that some 6,000 minors who require powdered milk as part of their treatment will benefit from this donation.
Rivas explained that Unicef has made several donations to Cuba since the start of the pandemic, an “important contribution” that ranges from syringes and refrigerators to ambulances, oxygen plants and ultrasound machines.
For her part, the head of Unicef in Cuba, Alejandra Trossero, wanted to underline the organization’s “commitment” to “continue supporting” the country in the face of the “multiple challenges imposed by the pandemic” and alleviate the “vulnerable situation.”
He assured that Unicef, in collaboration with Cuban institutions, “has contributed to the vitality of essential services” for children and pregnant women, in addition to supporting the Ministry of Public Health in technical matters.
Unicef has made several donations, ranging from syringes and refrigerators to ambulances, oxygen plants and ultrasound machines.
The event took place at the Juan Manuel Márquez pediatric center in Havana, one of the beneficiaries of the contribution, and where some 200 patients remain hospitalized daily, most of them minors.
Cuba has received in recent months several donations from Russia, the United States, Japan, Nicaragua and Vietnam, among other countries, from both governments and private groups.
Most of the contributions were medical supplies and basic food items, but in some cases even several dozen buses were delivered.
Last year, Cuba received 135 donations from 40 countries, mostly medical supplies and equipment for immunization and the fight against the pandemic, according to official data.
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