KIEV, Sept. 22 ??“ An increase in the price of imported natural gas from the current $95 to $135 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2007 could lead to stoppages at most of Ukraine's chemical plants, experts say.

According to the Ukrainian Union of Chemists, participants at a recent Odessa meeting of chief engineers of the Ukrainian chemicals sector agreed that an increase in the price of natural gas to $135 per 1,000 cubic meters would eliminate margins for some production.