Demand for Chinese raw materials for the solar industry and PV products generally continued to go up in the initial 2 months of 2023 as the country exported silicon wafers, cells and modules worth $8.6 billion. This represents a 22% annual jump in the month of January, but a 4.0% drop in February, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA).
However, sharing the data compiled from China Customs, CPIA says between January and February this year, the export value increased by 7.9% YoY.
The export value of silicon wafers during the 2 reported months was worth $820 million representing close to 8.7 GW capacity. It was an annual jump of 20.6% in January and 74.6% in February.
For 6.7 GW solar cells exported, also worth $820 million, the export value went up 103% and 156.1% YoY for the first 2 months of 2023, respectively. Earlier the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) had said the country produced over 44 GW crystalline silicon solar cells in 4M/2022, but exported only 4.1 GW pointing at strong local consumption (see China Produced 122,000 Ton Polysilicon In 4M/2022).
As for solar modules shipped by Chinese manufacturers in January and February, a total of 29.3 GW was exported valued at $6.96 billion, reflecting an annual jump of 1.0% and 19.9%, respectively.
According to CPIA, China imported around 14,800 tons solar-grade polysilicon worth $540 million, representing an annual increase of 19.6% in January, but in February it dropped 0.9%.
In the 2 reported months, China has already installed over 20 GW of new solar PV capacity, up over 87% from 10.86 GW in the previous year (see China Installed Over 20 GW New Solar In First 2 Months Of 2023).
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