#Polysilicon #price down to cash costs of top manufacturers, heralds shakeout
This week the global polysilicon price average has made another large drop by 5.2% to US$6.99/kg. The prices of high-quality polysilicon for n-type wafers and of dense polysilicon for p-type wafers in China have now reached the cash cost level of Chinese top manufacturers.
After weeks of resistance against price cuts, the leading Chinese polysilicon makers have lowered their prices significantly. As a result, the price gap between #Ntype and p-type materials has halved since mid-March. Although the number of transactions increased this week, the trading volume remained modest as #wafer manufacturers are still under enormous pressure from wafer prices below cash costs.
The Silicon Branch of the #China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association has noted that polysilicon prices are unlikely to recover “before large-scale production shutdowns occur” and expects that some manufacturers will carry out maintenance ahead of schedule. These are the first signs that an industry shakeout is taking shape.
EnergyTrend’s price index for n-type material in China plummeted by 8.8% to CNY52/kg (including 13% value added tax, equivalent to US$6.36/kg without VAT), while the price for dense mono-grade polysilicon (p-type material) in China fell by 4.3% to CNY45/kg (US$5.50/kg without VAT). Since demand for non-Chinese polysilicon is higher than supply, InfoLink’s index for polysilicon outside China remains sturdy at US$21.50/kg.