Silicon material
The domestic market price of level-1 material is 140 CNY/kg, and 125 CNY/kg for level-2 ones. The price of imported level-1 materials is $19.08/kg, while it stands at $17.72/kg for level-2 ones.
At present, the trading volume of silicon material is low. Besides some tier-1 silicon material manufacturers who are maintaining regular customers, most medium and small-scale manufacturers are operating at low utilization levels. Despite two recent conferences taking place, there is no improvement on the policies governing solar markets. Spot market pricing has not improved, while some downstream manufacturers backlogged large volumes of silicon material inventories. Presently, the order condition from downstream manufacturers appears unchanging, with some signing long-term supply contracts for both silicon materials and wafers.
Solar Wafer
This week, regarding mono-c-Si 125mm*125mm wafer, the price of tier-1 suppliers stood at 5.3 CNY/pc, and at 4.7 CNY/pc for tier-2 ones. As to mono-c-Si 156mm*156mm wafer, the price of tier-1 suppliers arrived at 8.5 CNY/pc, and 7.6 CNY/pc for tier-2 ones. In terms of poly-c-Si 156mm*156mm wafer, the price of tier-1 suppliers reached 6.30 CNY/pc, and 5.8 CNY/pc for tier-2 ones.
At present, affected by the increasing price of silicon materials and the unstable downstream orders, the production condition of small and medium-scale manufacturers is stagnant. And, compared with that of January and February, the output decreased sharply. Meanwhile, the production condition of large-scale manufacturers is stable, and the capacity restructuring is taking place. There are no new policies for the solar industry after the two Conferences, so, the market tendency will maintain uncertain in the short term. At present, the downstream demand still has no obvious improvement. Meanwhile, since there is also no certain result for the AD&CVD investigation into foreign silicon materials, manufacturers keep their eyes on the market. And, it is expected that the price of wafer will maintain steady in the short term.
Solar Cell
Currently, considering mono-c-Si 125mm*125mm cell, the price of tier-1 suppliers stands at 3.00 CNY/W, and 2.60 CNY/W for tier-2 ones. Regarding mono-c-Si 156mm*156mm cell, the price of tier-1 suppliers is at 3.00 CNY/W, and 2.75 CNY/W for tier-2 ones. In terms of poly-c-Si 156mm*156mm cell, the price of tier-1 suppliers has reached 2.50 CNY/W, and 2.40 CNY/W for tier-2 ones.
Since the policy for the solar industry remains uncertain, the market is slowly recovering. Nowadays, the condition of domestic cell manufacturers is discerned based on the size of the enterprise. Most large-scale manufacturers do not sell their cells to others, but they consume them for their own production downstream. Whereas, since the order condition for medium and small scale-manufacturers is becoming sluggish, most of them have already shut down recently opened production. The capacity of those who have stable production is also at low levels. At present, most manufacturers are supplying long-term, regular customers. Based on Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR)(NYSE:STP) bankruptcy of its Wuxi-based subsidiary, views are that capacity will be reduced in return to enable balance between demand and supply. On the other hand, the condition has just made it more difficult to have a positive relationship with banks. The liquidity of some of the companies will be threatened as a result, to increase potential for bankruptcies of medium and small enterprises.
Solar Module
Concerning mono-c-Si 190W module, the price of tier-1 suppliers stands at 4.30 CNY/W, and 3.95 CNY/W for tier-2 ones. As to mono-c-Si 245W module，the price of tier-1 suppliers is at 4.75 CNY/W, and 4.4 CNY/W for tier-2 ones. In terms of poly-c-Si 230W module, the price of tier-1 suppliers has reached 4.05 CNY/W, and 3.50 CNY/W for tier-2 ones. Concerning mono-c-Si 195W module, the price of tier-1 suppliers stands at 4.45 CNY/W, and 4.15 CNY/W for tier-2 ones. As to mono-c-Si 250W module, the price of tier-1 suppliers is at 4.85 CNY/W, and 4.55 CNY/W for tier-2 ones. And, in terms of poly-c-Si 240W module, the price of tier-1 suppliers has reached 4.20 CNY/W, and 3.95 CNY/W for tier-2 ones.
At present, the domestic module market remains steady. Last week, most manufacturers were paying close attention to the two Conferences; however, with the two Conferences ending without positive outcomes on policies, the domestic market is stagnant. Exports to Europe have been reduced and manufacturers continue to bring volume to domestic markets. At this point, prices remain flat in comparison to last week.
