Major polysilicon producers in China have been told to strengthen self-initiative inspections and avert price gouging and hoarding amid surging polysilicon prices, according to a notice released by three Chinese authorities.
The authorities include the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), State Administration of Market Supervision and the National Energy Administration (NEA) of China.
The notice said that price hikes have been seen throughout China’s PV industry, causing huge volatility to the supply chain.
At the end of August, Solarbe Global reported that the average price of the highest grade polysilicon has climbed to RMB 307.2 /kg (~USD 44.54/kg), according to China Silicon Industry Association. The price was up by over 250 percent from only RMB 87.6/kg (~USD 12.19/kg) at the start of January, 2021.
This is a result of a series of factors, including the growing complexity of international trade environment, COVID-19 resurgences, substantial increase in demand, as well as price gouging and product hoarding by some solar companies.
“The resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, one of the world’s main sources of polysilicon, has also affected production and supply,” an industry expert said. However, some enterprises had taken opportunity of the conditions to speculate, hoard and raise prices, the MIIT said.
“Upstream raw material enterprises have made a lot of profits, which is not conducive to the development of enterprises downstream,” the expert noted.
To promote the healthy development of the solar PV industry, the three departments told polysilicon producers to standardize their management and avoid price gouging, hoarding and speculation.
Relevant departments also vowed to strengthen supervision and regulations to crack down on price gouging and selling counterfeits.
