A ship carrying 17,000 tonnes of rice as food aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh berthed at a jetty of Chattogram Port yesterday.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) had received the rice from the United States as food aid and provided it for the Rohingyas.

Officials of WFP Bangladesh were present at the port as the ship, MV Fiora Topic, berthed at Jetty-11 at around 1:30pm, port officials said.

WFP Bangladesh imported the rice on the ship from the US port of Lake Charles, according to the port documents.

The vessel earlier arrived at the outer anchorage of the port on Saturday and berthed at the jetty yesterday after customs and other formalities were completed, said Khairul Alam Suzan, advisor of the ship's local agent Seawave Marine Service.

The ship was carrying around 17,000 tonnes of rice in 50-kg bags.

Unloading and delivery of rice from the ship started later in the afternoon and continued till 11:00pm. After a day of pause for Eid holiday today, the unloading would resume on Tuesday morning, said the agent.

Contacted, WFP Bangladesh spokesperson Kun Li confirmed the matter.

This is part of a contribution of food that WFP received from the US, she said.

"Thanks to timely contributions from donors, WFP is able to avert ration cuts in April. Full rations will be maintained in the coming months -- $12 per person per month for Cox's Bazar and $13 for Bhasan Char," she also said.

These adjustments are not reductions -- these amounts will ensure Rohingya families continue receiving the same quantity of food as before April, while taking into consideration foreign exchange charges and other favourable factors, Kun Li added.

The WFP earlier this month called for urgent funding for its Bangladesh operations, warning that a funding deficit would curb rations for the Rohingyas in the world's largest refugee settlement.

Reuters previously reported that the UN would have to cut food rations to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from $12.50 to $6 per month in April after failing to secure funding.