A shipment of 15,000 tonnes of rice donated by the Chinese government to Cuba has arrived at the port of Havana, the island’s president said on Sunday.

The shipment is the first batch of a promised 60,000 tonnes that China says it will donate to Cuba, which is grappling with dire shortages.

“That noble gesture of solidarity will reach millions of consumers throughout all the provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, in addition to our health and education institutions,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on social media.

The communist Caribbean country has been under a US trade embargo since 1962, which is often blamed for shortages of food and medicine. In January, Cuba stopped receiving oil from its ally Venezuela, when the United States overthrew Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and began directing energy policy.

Meanwhile, the US has threatened sanctions on anyone selling oil to the country.

The effective energy blockade has significantly worsened blackouts that have long plagued the country.