The press service of the Front for Change initiative reported that he gave his views during his visit to a mine at OJSC Pivdenny (Southern) Ore Mining and Beneficiation Mill in Kryvy Rih last week.
Asked how the competitiveness of the Ukrainian metals sectors hinges on the price of gas, Yatseniuk said that according to the contract, the prices of gas in Ukraine are pegged to the price of oil.
"Over the four past months, oil prices have doubled. If the price of oil reaches $100 per barrel, Ukraine would have to pay $600 per thousand cubic meters of gas," he said.
"Today, Ukrainian industrial companies buy gas at UAH 2,600 [per thousand cubic meters]. I don't know why people are saying it is $150-200 per thousand cubic meters. This is the concrete price at Dnipropetrovsk-based Petrovsky Steel Mill. The mill's director showed me realistic information – UAH 2,600 per thousand cubic meters, and this is over $300," he said.
The Front for Change initiative leader named the factors that were harming Ukrainian competitiveness, including the worst gas contract with Russia in Ukrainian history.
"First, the absence of energy efficiency, secondly, the top position in the world in energy consumption per dollar of GDP, and third, one of the worst gas contracts in Ukrainian history, and best in the history of [Russia's] OAO Gazprom, has crippled Ukrainian competitiveness," he said.
