The Chinese Embassy issued a statement yesterday clarifying their position on the rice they donated, which is currently being distributed in villages in the country.
The statement asserted that two batches of rice produced between October and December 2018 were delivered in January and February 2019 respectively. They added that the safe period of consumption is nine months from the date of production. The full text of the statement is as follows:
“In accordance with the exchange of letters signed in September 2018 between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of The Gambia, the Chinese Government shipped 2,734 metric tons of rice as emergency humanitarian aid to the Republic of The Gambia. The two batches of rice( all produced between October and December 2018) arrived at the port of Banjul on 7 January 2019 and 18 February 2019 respectively, The Chinese side submitted the bills of lading to the Gambian side in a timely manner, thus has fulfilled its obligations stated in the exchange of letters. All the dispatched rice was parboiled, characterized by high nutrition and long shelf life. Under proper conditions, the safe consumption period is at least 9 months from the date of production.”
