REUTERS
Ukraine in January-June 2017 increased imports of hard coal and anthracite by 1.8 times in monetary terms compared with the same period in 2016, that is up to $1.257 billion, according to the State Fiscal Service.
Major coal suppliers were Russia (50.2%), the U.S. (27%), and Canada (8.7% ), the report reads.
Coal imports from Russia in monetary terms in January-June 2017 increased from $446.3 million to $631.1 million, from the U.S. - from $95.9 million to $340.5 million. From Canada, Ukraine imported coal worth a total of 109.6 million.
The export of these products for the six months of 2017 amounted in monetary terms to $47.9 million against $23.1 million in the same period last year.
Read alsoCabinet sets up ad hoc group to pull coal industry out of crisisAs UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine began to experience an acute shortage of thermal coal starting the summer of 2014, when as a result of military operations in the east of Ukraine, Kyiv government completely lost control over parts of Donbas, where most coal mines are located. This led to the country beginning to import coal.
In 2015, Ukraine imported coal and anthracite worth a total of $1.632 billion. The largest suppliers of coal were Russia, the United States, and Kazakhstan. In 2016, Ukraine reduced the cost of imports of hard coal and anthracite by 10% - to $1.467 billion.