Sri Lanka: As the Burmese starve, junta sends 50,000 tons of rice to Sri Lanka - where "There is no shortage right now"

As the world desperately seeks ways of getting aid to the victims of Cyclone Nargis, a consignment of rice from Burma is expected to reach the Sri Lankan port of Colombo early next week - to meet the local market needs.

R. M. K. Ratnayake, secretary to the Minister of Trade and Consumer Affairs, said 7,000 metric tons of rice from Myanmar would arrive on May 27. This was part of the 50,000 metric tons ordered by the Sri Lankan government in late March. Escalation of retail rice prices due to a shortage prompted the government to place urgent orders with Myanmar.

"There is no shortage right now but we are concerned about August/September. If there is a problem then Myanmar rice will help us to overcome the situation," Ratnayake told reporters.

He added the cyclone in Burma had delayed the rice shipments from arriving.

Is it just me or is there something grotesque about rice from a country where millions are starving being sent to a country where "There is no shortage right now"

Beam me up Scotty
Mike Hitchen, Mike Hitchen Consulting Publisher of i On Global Trends Sydney Irresistible The Jeremy Young Files and The Jill Havern FilesLane Cove , NSW 2006