Polish miners eye anti-dumping law for Russian coal

04/03/2010 12:00 - 487 Views

WARSAW, March 1 (Reuters) - Poland's state-controlled coal miners may file for European Union's protection against cheaper coal from Russia, Kompania Weglowa's spokesman said on Monday.

The three largest Polish coal producers, Kompania Weglowa, Katowicki Holding Weglowy (KHW), and Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa (JSW), are already preparing their motion claiming Russian coal is sold at dumping prices.

"Polish producers have agreed to motion European Commission to apply special anti-dumping duty on cheap coal from the east," Zbigniew Madej said. "Depending on a situation we can file for protection sometime this year."

Poland became a net importer in 2008, as dropping global prices dented sales of domestic producers for the energy sector, especially those located close to Poland's eastern border.

In 2009, Poland imported about 10 million tonnes of coal, while domestic production dropped about 7.6 percent to 78 million tonnes.

(Reporting by Wojciech Zurawski, writing by Patryk Wasilewski; Editing by Rebekah Kebede)

Mon Mar 1, 2010 3:01pm GMT