KIEV, March 19 – The Cabinet of Ministers has set quotas on imports of coking coal to protect the interests of national producers, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytsky has said.

"We're acting from the point of view of a protectionist policy with regard to coal extraction in our country," he said.

The minister said that over the past several years, imports of dual-purpose coal, which can be used both for coke production and in the energy sector, have grown. While in 2009 eight million tons of coal was imported, in 2010 some 10.5 million tons was imported, in 2011 – 11 million tons and in 2012 – 13.5 million tons.