Humanitarian aid from Russia and the EU started arriving in the Republic of Moldova on Monday, as the draught caused unprecedented consequences. The Russian press writes that the situation is catastrophical as more than 80% of the farming terrain is affected.

Damages have been evaluated at around 1 billion USD, a sum representing more than a half of the national state budget.

Local authorities requested aid to both CSI countries and the Western Europe ones. Nezavisimaia Gazeta, a Russian paper, informs that the Moldavian peasants started saving food bought from either local shops or Ukraine.

The drought also affected the fruits and vegetables market which lead to prices to reach the same floor as the ones in Moscow.

To counteract the catastrophe, the government elaborated an irrigation program but the results will only be felt in 2012.

For now, the government formed a commission of high officials and NGO representatives which will monitor the received humanitarian aid requested by President Voronin. The appeal found a positive reaction in Russia, EU, Great Britain, Belarus and a series of international organizations.

Greece, for example, offered the Republic of Moldova 100.000 euro and the Russian Altai region started aiding the country with wheat. According to local newspapers, the authorities calculated the necessary amounts: 350.000 tons of wheat, 89.000 tons of potatoes, 85.000 tons of dairy products.