Companies from Russia and other countries from October 1, 2012 to April 1, 2013 jointly supplied 92.97% of Ukraine's import quota for steel seamless casing and compressor pipes set for the period from October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013, and gained licenses to supply 16,354 tonnes of pipes, with the annual quota being 17,591 tonnes.

The Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry gave Interfax-Ukraine pipe import data as of April 1, 2013.

The ministry said that Russian companies used up 99.91% of their quota, receiving licenses to supply 12,495 tonnes of pipes, with the quota being 12,506 tonnes.

Austrian companies received licenses to supply 2,028 tonnes of pipes, or 78.71% of the quota of 2,577 tonnes.

Polish companies used 66.34% of their quota of 1,158 tonnes to supply 768.16 tonnes, Romanian companies used 86.82% of their quota of 220 tonnes to supply 191 tonnes, and Chinese companies used 95.68% of their quota of 51 tonnes to supply 48.797 tonnes

At the same time, Slovakian companies (180 tonnes) and Indian ones (76 tonnes) did not receive licenses.

Other companies used 100% of their quota of 823 tonnes.

As reported, Ukraine on September 30, 2011 prolonged the quotas it imposed in 2008 on the import of steel seamless casing and compressor pipes, irrespective of the country of origin, with the annual expansion of quotas being 5%.

According to the decision, during the first year of the re-imposed quotas (until September 30, 2012), the total quota for pipe exports amounted to 16,753 tonnes, while the figure in the third year was 18,471 tonnes.

In June 2008, the interagency commission for international trade decided to impose special three-year quotas on the import of steel seamless casing and compressor pipes, irrespective of the country of origin. The investigation was started under an appeal of Dnipropetrovsk-based opened joint-stock company Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Plant and closed joint-stock company Interpipe Nikopol Seamless Pipe Plant Niko Tube in Dnipropetrovsk region.

In addition, steel stainless casing and pump-compressor pipes of four specifications used for the extraction of hydrocarbons from October 1, 2012 can be imported to Ukraine beyond the quotas foreseen in measures taken on the import of pipes since 2008.