Chinese PV Industry Brief: Increasing wafer prices and new glass and polysilicon orders

Just before the Chinese New Year holiday, which starts on Thursday, China's two major wafer makers, Zhonghuan and Longi, raised the prices of their products. Zhonghuan set the price of its M6 wafers at RMB3.35 per piece (US$0.52) and of its G1 products at RMB3.25. For the new G12 wafers, the new price is RMB5.60 per piece. Longi priced its p-type M6 (166x223mm, 175um thickness) monocrystalline wafer at RMB3.35 per piece while, for the G1 size (158.75x223mm, 175um), the new price was RMB3.25 pcs. For large size, M10 (182x247mm, 175um) wafers, the new price is RMB4.05 pcs. The increase in price is likely due to strong demand and regular stocking up before seven days of Chinese New Year holiday.

Longi also placed a big polysilicon order with Korea-based OCI Group. The module manufacturer has agreed to buy around 77,700 metric tons of polysilicon over three years, from March. The total contract value is about RMB6.36 billion (US$978 million).

Manufacturer Flat Glass on Friday announced a top-up to its photovoltaic glass supply agreement with Longi. The volume to be supplied this year will rise 27.9 million square meters, and a further 46 GW worth (287 million square meters) of solar panel glass will be supplied next year and during 2023. The price will be subject to negotiation with the total supply agreement, which started in May 2019, set to be worth around RMB11.7 billion (US$1.82 billion). That figure is based on the latest weekly PV glass figures published by commodities data company Sublime China Information Ltd, Flat Glass said on Friday.