In a new weekly update for PV -MagazineOpis, a Dow Jones company, offers a quick look at the most important trends in the global PV industry.
The China Mono Premium-Opis’ Assessment for mono-grade polysilicon used in N-type Ingot productionegomas with 2.29% week-on-week with 2.29%, with CNY 44.750 ($ 6.23)/kg, or CNY 0.094/W, according to opis Solar Weekly. $ 0.156/PC and $ 0.196/PC, with 8.33% and 5.38% respectively.
This week, the fourth consecutive week marks waffle price increases, with N-type 182 mm waffles climbing in the domestic Chinese market from a recent low of approximately CNY 0.90/PC to CNY 1.21/PC. Market observers suggest that this upward trend can continue to exist, because the rising futures prices for Polysilicon continue to increase the increases in market prices.
The financial reality for most wafer producers remains a challenge. Insiders from the industry have shown that the current sales strategies assumed by the manufacturers of silicon wanders include the prices of shipping in accordance with the prevailing purchase costs of polysilicon. This price strategy is intended to reduce further financial losses as the power -growing raw material prices continue to rise. Although most wafer producers are reportedly maintaining gross profit, net profit has not yet been achieved meaningfully because manufacturers are pressed between rising electric polysilicon costs and persistent oversupply.
In the meantime, rising prices bring manufacturers into a strategic dilemma. Although coordinated production limitation would offer market stability, the competitive advantage of cheap producers is already cautious capacity increases. According to a market observer, a manufacturer with cash for N-type M10-Wafer around CNY 1.00/PC increased the operational rates last week, while another leading producer increased the use of approximately 50%. Insiders warn that if the prices of the wafer continue to rise with – or even the outpace – polysilicon prices, the industry can see a reversal, because the price environment can seduce extra capacity to come back online
On the demand side, the export momentum can support the stability of the waffle price in the short term. A market participant reported that the export of the wafer accelerates, because Downstream buyers try to accelerate purchasing prior to the investigation of the US Section 232 to imported polysilicon and derivatives and the anti-dumping investigations aimed at solar products from Indonesia, Laos and India. However, market participants consider this demand to increase on a large scale temporarily and limited in scale.
The demand of even the most promising export destinations, such as India and Turkey, is limited. Although the export of the waffle to these countries has grown steadily every quarter, India and Turkey each import about 1 GW waffles from China per month, which is insufficient to support the price increases in the long term.
Looking ahead, the industry can soon be adjusted to export tax policy, with the current discount of 9% possibly reduced or fully eliminated. According to a Market Insider, it is expected that Chinese products are expected to retain a competitive advantage worldwide because of their relatively lower costs, all resulting higher export prices would be absorbed by overseas buyers instead of improving the profitability of the domestic manufacturer. De Source explained that the essence of the policy shift is to limit profit margins and arbitration options that are available for foreign importers instead of directly to the benefit of domestic producers.
Opis, a Dow Jones company, offers energy prices, news, data and analysis of gasoline, diesel, aircraft fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental products. It acquired price determination of data from Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC SOLAR WEEKLY REPORT.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author, and do not necessarily reflect it by PV -Magazine.
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