A rice paddy in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province in this Oct. 13, 2022 photo. Yonhap

Korea has shipped this year's first batch of rice to countries suffering from food shortages, aiming to provide 100,000 tons of rice to 11 nations, the agricultural ministry said Wednesday.

The shipping ceremony took place in Gunsan, 178 kilometers south of Seoul, with 15,000 tons of rice set to head to Bangladesh for Rohingya refugees, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The shipment follows South Korea's decision to double its donation starting in 2024, which previously stood at 50,000 tons since its accession to the Food Assistance Convention in 2018.

South Korea plans to complete the shipment of the remaining volumes by the end of June, with the rice set to reach eight African nations, along with Afghanistan and Yemen. (Yonhap)