KIEV, June 13 - Ukraine’s gasoline imports have risen to a “critical level” and the government is now considering measures to encourage domestic oil refineries to boost output, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuriy Boyko said Wednesday.

Due to low import duties among other reasons, the imports of gasoline have been growing steadily over the past two years, forcing most of domestic oil refineries to shut down indefinitely.

“The imports have exceeded the critical level,” Boyko told reporters. “We are now working on restarting our oil refineries.”