L R AS Published on Saturday 2 March 2024 - n° 478 - Categories:silicon mono/multi
China is importing less and less silicon. Western manufacturers are selling to Vietnam!
Silicon imports by China have fallen to their lowest level since 2011. Non-Chinese silicon producers have been shipping larger volumes to South East Asia, says Bernreuter Research. This shift in destination
The impact on shipments comes from US legislation on imports due to anti-dumping and countervailing duties and the prevention of forced labour on Uighurs.
"Non-Chinese silicon manufacturers Wacker, Hemlock Semiconductor and OCI Malaysia are increasingly shifting their shipments from China to Vietnam, where three of the four largest Chinese solar panel suppliers have established wafer facilities," which include A Solar, JinkoSolar and Trina Solar.
Chinese customs report that silicon imports fell by 28% between 2022 and 2023, from 88,093 tonnes to 62,965 tonnes.
This shift to South-East Asia halves US import duties. Wafers are the key point in the supply chain for AD/CVD, as the most upstream element that tariffs cover. Chinese manufacturers "then began to create separate silicon-based supply chains from non-Chinese manufacturers for exporting solar panels to the US". This process, known as bifurcation, allows manufacturers to meet US import laws without needing to change their practices for markets that do not require transparency of supply.
Meanwhile, China Customs reports that Chinese exports to Vietnam have fallen from 639 million in 2022 to 4,970 tonnes in 2023, "This raises doubts about claims of a separate supply chain."
Bernreuter says that Wacker and OCI Malaysia - another non-Chinese silicon company, now account for 98% of imports into China. Polycrystalline silicon capacity in China has grown considerably in recent years.
Exports of silicon to China are not expected to exceed 38,000 tonnes, representing a 40% fall on 2023.
https://www.pv-tech.org/polysilicon-exports-to-china-lowest-since-2011-bernreuter/
PV TECH of 28 February 2024
Editor's note The fall in imports is linked to major capacity investments by Chinese silicon manufacturers.
In order to comply with the Americans' anti-forced-labour obligations, the Chinese are adapting by producing in other countries solely for the US market. They are complying with the letter of the US customs regulations, without being able to distinguish clearly between what is produced in China and what is produced in Vietnam, since all that is required is a modified label.
