The average price of mono refilling chips was RMB166.5/kg (US$24.05/kg), which was RMB5 less than on May 7. The average price of mono-dense poly was RMB163.5/kg, which was $4 less than the previous price. Mono popcorn was RMB159.5/kg, which was less than the 7 May price of RMB163.5/kg. Granular silicon cost an average of RMB153/kg, which was RMB5.5 less than it had been.
Because the photovoltaic (PV) business kept getting better, there was a shortage of upstream silicon materials. So, the idea that “one who has silicon is the champion” was common in the business.
The price of polysilicon went up by more than RMB300/kg in 2022. But as new production capacities came online, one after the other, silicon material output kept going up. Since the beginning of this year, polysilicon prices have gone down because of this.
Analysts in the industry think that this year’s polysilicon prices will go up because the general supply of polysilicon will be enough and start to grow. Prices for silicon materials should go down to about RMB100/kg by the end of June.
As the cost of upstream silicon materials went down, the way profits were split in the PV business would change. This is because the chip production price could get in the way of the earnings made from the silicon material production price.
