Citing data from China Architectural and Industrial Glass Association, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) reported in mid-November that China’s operational production capacity for rolled PV glass increased by 70.5% year on year for the period from January to October this year. In October, the domestic market for rolled PV glass showed the clear trends of rising demand and declining inventory. In the same month, the average inventory days of Chinese suppliers for rolled PV glass came to around 14, down by 7 from the end of September.
As of the end of October, the number of Chinese suppliers for rolled PV glass totaled 39. Together, they possessed 120 furnaces and 402 production lines. Their total production capacity reached 76,000 tons per day. Among the 120 furnaces, 103 were in operation. Among the 402 production lines, 366 were in operation. Thus, the total operational domestic production capacity reached 71,000 tons per day. The total domestic production or output quantity from October to January came to 12.725 million tons, showing a year-on-year increase of 54.8%. It is worth mentioning that domestic production quantity was 1.612 million tons for September, up 57.8% year on year.
Looking at price trends, the average prices of 2mm and 3.2mm rolled PV glass resided around RMB 20.8 per square meter and RMB 26.9 per square meter respectively during the period from January to October. For the same period, the average prices of 2mm and 3.2mm rolled PV glass fell by 14% and 7.7% year on year respectively. As for October, the average prices of 2mm and 3.2mm rolled PV glass dropped by 8.9% and 9.5% year on year respectively. The former arrived at RMB 20.4 per square meter, whereas the the latter arrived at RMB 26.2 per square meter.