The Finance Ministry provided as many as 40,000 tons of rice in aid relief to poverty-stricken households throughout the country in the first half of this year. The rice was taken from the national reserve, which has so far stockpiled more than 140,000 tons of rice, said the ministry. The recent beneficiaries were those from the central province of Quang Ngai, who received a total of 2,929 tons of rice. Earlier in June, the central province of Nghe An got 3,000 tons of rice and the northern provinces of Lao Cai, 220 tons. In May, 7,882 tons of rice from the national reserve were allocated to the northern province of Bac Kan, Thai Binh and Ha Giang and the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh.
