KIEV, Feb. 18 – The introduction of metal export duties in a period of super profits for metals companies thanks to high global prices will help create stabilization funds, which could then be used to help the sector cope with price collapses in the future, according to Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian president in 1994-2004.

"The creation of the stabilization fund would have given the government a chance to support the metals, chemical sectors, without using budget funds. The approach would be in line with the principle of market self-regulation under monitoring by the state," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"We shouldn't repeat mistakes already made: if businesses yield high profits, they belong to private companies, and if businesses see losses, these are mainly placed on the shoulders of the state," he said.