(BSS) - Bangladesh and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have welcomed a fresh rice donation from South Korea to support the Rohingya response, reaffirming Seoul`s continued solidarity with Bangladesh in addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The handover ceremony was held at WFP`s Alongkar Warehouse in Chattogram on Tuesday, attended by Disaster Management and Relief Secretarey Md. Mostafizur Rahman, South Korean Ambassador Young Sik Park and WFP Country Director Dom Scalpelli, said a press release here today.

The event also paid tribute to Korean farmers whose hard work made such contributions possible, coinciding with Korea`s Farmers` Day.

This is the second donation from the Republic of Korea, 20,265 metric tonnes of rice, made through its Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA). In 2024, a 15,000-metric-tonne donation was also made for the Rohingya response.

In addition to rice, MAFRA has provided fortified rice kernels containing essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, B1, B12, zinc, iron, and folic acid.

The kernels will be blended locally with regular rice at a 1:100 ratio before being delivered to Cox`s Bazar for distribution to the Rohingya community.

According to WFP, this year`s contribution is enough to feed the entire Rohingya population of more than 1.1 million people for nearly two months, forming part of Korea`s global donation of 150,000 metric tonnes of rice to WFP operations in 17 countries.

"We remain dedicated to working with the Government of Bangladesh and WFP to respond to the growing needs of the Rohingya community," said Ambassador Park.

As the crisis enters its ninth year, more than 1.1 million Rohingya remain in camps in Cox`s Bazar, with over 130,000 new arrivals fleeing conflict in Myanmar`s Rakhine State since early 2024.

According to the 2025 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, around 446,000 Rohingya, 40 percent of the population, are projected to be severely food insecure, with nearly 223,000 facing emergency-level food insecurity.

WFP has warned that, without new resources, lifesaving operations could face major disruptions as early as April 2026 due to declining humanitarian funding.