According to the data issued by the Ukrainian association of metal producers Metallurgprom, in January-September this year Ukraine's imports of coking coal went up by 34 percent year on year to about 6.75 million mt, with 720,000 mt imported in September.
Meanwhile, in the first nine months of this year Ukraine's coke and chemicals plants received about 13.4 million mt of domestic-origin coking coal - down one percent year on year, with 1.35 million mt received in September.
According to the Ukrainian Coke Producers' Association (UkrKoks), in 2011 Ukraine's coking coal imports may increase to almost 10 million mt, from the expected 7-7.3 million mt this year, as domestic coking coal producers do not plan to increase their 2011 deliveries, aiming to maintain the output level of the current year. If Ukrainian steel producers increase their steel output in 2011, as is expected, the consumption of coke will grow and so the existing supply of coking coal will not be enough.