Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Signs of trouble in PV pricing

Silicon increases ripple through the entire value chain. This is being driven by tit for tat protectionism.

 

Polysilicon price increases push wafer producers to hike their own prices

04.09.2013: A recent increase in polysilicon prices on the Chinese spot market is driving up polysilicon prices across Asia, which has, in turn led to an increase in wafer production costs. Consequently, Asian wafer producers are considering raising silicon wafer prices to reduce operating pressures, according to Taiwan-based consultancy company TrendForce Corp. Moreover, the upward trend of polysilicon prices is showing no signs of abating and will therefore last a while yet, the firm says. TrendForce found that although the Chinese government has imposed antidumping duties on polysilicon imports in an attempt to increase the use of domestically produced polysilicon, Chinese polysilicon manufacturers product quality, costs and shipment capacity still lags behind large international competitors. As a result, there were no significant decreases in China’s imports and purchase of raw materials – the industry still relies heavily on polysilicon imports. Furthermore, since China’s polysilicon antidumping duties came into effect, the custom process period for imported raw materials has been extended. And on top of this, uncertainties surrounding the future development of the solar market have caused suppliers to be extremely cautious in increasing production. Due to this market environment, prices in the polysilicon spot market remain high. © PHOTON

 

 

Monty Bannerman

ArcStar Energy

646.402.5076

www.arcstarenergy.com

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