China’s polysilicon imports drop in December, ahead of spot price

Monthly polysilicon imports into China from January through December 2017
Lower volumes from South Korea reduced polysilicon imports into China in December – Chart: Bernreuter Research

After a short recovery in November, polysilicon imports into China fell back to 12,534 metric tons (MT) in December, a decrease of 16.0% month over month.

Most of the decline was due to lower imports from South Korea, which slumped from 7,149 MT in November to 5,188 MT – probably in the wake of maintenance overhauls.

Total annual polysilicon imports into China rose from 140,256 MT in 2016 by 13.3% to 158,918 MT in 2017.

The lower import volume in December confirms the current trend of seasonally low demand, which is now also reflected in a sinking polysilicon spot price as we predicted in December.

The extent of the price decline is still somewhat veiled by the strengthening Chinese Yuan. It is also slowed down by Longi and Zhonghuan Semiconductor who continue to build up large polysilicon inventories for the expansion of their monocrystalline wafer capacities.

Nevertheless, the price erosion now begins to accelerate.

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