Wafer prices bottomed out and stabilized this week. Among them, the average transaction price of N-type G10L silicon wafers (182*183.75mm/130μm/256mm) remained at RMB 1.15/piece, unchanged week-on-week. The average transaction price of N-type G12R silicon wafers (182*210mm/130μm) remained unchanged at RMB 1.5/piece, unchanged week-on-week. The average transaction price of N-type G12 mono-Si wafers (210*210 mm/150μm) remained at RMB 1.9/pc, unchanged week-on-week.
On the supply side, according to the statistics of Silicon industry of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, the Chinese wafer output in May was 59.65GW, a decrease of 4.3% month-on-month. Specifically, the output of first-tier enterprises is 19.2GW, that of integrated enterprises is 20.7GW, and that of the rest of the specialized enterprises is 19.75GW. Among them, the first-tier enterprises and the integrated enterprises have reduced their volumes, and the strategic differences between the two first-tier enterprises are obvious, which is mainly reflected in the obvious premium ability of large-size silicon wafers. It is understood that most companies plan to reduce production in an orderly manner in June this week, with an overall decline of about 10%, so it is expected that the output of silicon wafers in June will be around 52GW.
On the demand side, 62GW of cells and 55GW of modules were scheduled for May. On the cell side, the price of M10 mono TOPCon cells remained at RMB 0.3/W. Recently, specialized cell companies have increased their wafer procurement efforts to maintain market share, and the current wafer price is at a historically low level, and the cash loss will not be maintained for a long time. On the module side, the price of 182mm TOPCon double-sided double-glass modules remained at RMB 0.86/W. At the policy level, the State Council recently issued the "2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan", which clarifies that the energy efficiency of new polysilicon projects must reach the advanced level in the industry.
This week, the operating rates of the two first-tier enterprises fell to 50% and 80% respectively. The operating rate of integrated enterprises is maintained between 60% and 80%, and the operating rate of the rest of enterprises is maintained between 50% and 70% respectively. According to the analysis of supply and demand, wafer prices are expected to remain stable in the future, as wafer prices are at a critical juncture at the critical juncture of supply and demand, and raw material prices have stopped falling.
Source：China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association