Death Toll Increases in Bankok Cyclone

The cyclone and flooding in Myanmar's two major rice growing areas have "potentially serious effects" for food supply in two other impoverished countries, a U.N. official said on Monday.

World Food Programme spokesman Paul Risley said it was not yet known whether Myanmar could meet its commitments to supply tens of thousands of tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka and neighbouring Bangladesh.

In the former Myanmar capital Yangon, an official said the planned shipment of 50,000 tonnes of milled rice to Sri Lanka in May may be delayed as the government needs to check its stocks.

"We are still carrying out a damage survey of our rice stocks and will make an appropriate decision after that," said an official at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Commerce and Industry, who declined to be identified.

Myanmar state media said in April the country had exported about 400,000 tonnes of rice in the past year because it had enough supplies to feed its 53 million people.

At least 351 people died in the cyclone that tore through the Irrawaddy delta, the rice bowl of the impoverished nation. Hundreds of thousands are without shelter and drinking water since the storm struck on Saturday.

Risley said it was too early yet to assess the damage to crops in the Irrawaddy delta and Bago division, the main rice-producing regions in the former Burma.

"These are longer term questions and a major issue of concern because of the potentially serious effects for food supply in those countries at a time when global supplies are short," Risley said.

Global stocks for the staple food of half of the world's population have halved since hitting a record high in 2001.

Prices in Asia have almost trebled this year as export restrictions by leading suppliers fuel insecurity over food supplies.

With only 30 million tonnes traded annually, government supply curbs, such as those imposed by major producers India and Vietnam, have spooked importers such as the Philippines and Bangladesh.

It is not know whether Myanmar, the world's largest rice exporter when it won independence from Britain in 1948, will need to import emergency rice supplies. If it does, it is likely to inflate price further.

Prices for most basic food items, including rice and cooking oil, have soared on the streets of Yangon since the cyclone hammered the city on Saturday.

The World Food Programme says it has stocks of around 500,000 tonnes in Yangon, the former capital, and is seeking to bring in more food.

The military, which has ruled the Southeast Asian nation for 46 years and is shunned by the West, has not issued a formal appeal for international help, but officials told the U.N. help may be welcomed.