According to China’s Silicon Industry Branch, polysilicon prices have decreased by up to 2.91% this week due to a rise in supply.
Transactions for polysilicon recharging now fall between CNY 180-195/kg, with the average price at CNY 192.4/kg, down by 2.73%. Polysilicon prime for mono now costs between CNY 178-193/kg and CNY 190/kg on average, representing a decrease of 2.71%. Polysilicon prime for multi is now priced between CNY 176-190/kg and CNY 186.7/kg on average, down by 2.91%.
Compared to the quotations from last week, the highest transaction prices for all types of polysilicon have fallen dramatically by CNY 17-18/kg, while the lowest transaction prices have also seen a decline of CNY 5-6/kg.
As polysilicon manufacturers gradually ramp up their production capacity, the supply of high-quality polysilicon has increased, making it difficult to maintain previous prices. This has given wafer manufacturers more leverage in price negotiations. It is predicted that polysilicon prices will continue to fall in the second quarter.
As summer approaches, some provinces in China are planning to tackle electricity shortages during peak demand. However, the industry generally believes that power rationing will have limited impact on polysilicon and silicon rod manufacturing.
Qinghai province has issued requirements to manage power load during the summer. Polysilicon manufacturers in the region could face up to 25% restrictions on power consumption. However, data shows that although industrial electricity consumption is high in Qinghai, the supply of electricity is likely to be guaranteed. The power consumption restrictions for polysilicon producers will not be long, and will have limited impact on the supply upstream in the second quarter.
Wafer prices have started to decline, providing support for cell and module manufacturers to lower their own prices.
According to sources, a large quantity of imported quartz sand has arrived, solving the urgent need for many wafer producers, even though the prices have far exceeded expectations. As a result, there is a higher supply of wafers in the market.
However, two manufacturers have told Solarbe that the price reduction of wafers is mainly due to cooling demand downstream instead of the supply of quartz sand.
Solarbe analysts point out that the room for wafer price reduction is limited, as the product is still at low inventory levels.
Module prices have recently seen a slight decline. Solarbe learned that most first-tier and first-tier-to-be module makers have lowered the prices of PERC modules to CNY 1.64-1.68/watt.
The prices of 210 mm modules are slightly higher than those of 182 mm modules overall, but the price gap is narrower than that between 210 mm and 182 mm cells.
