China-based solar-grade crystalline silicon wafer makers have shifted to tap the Taiwan market where demand from crystalline silicon solar cell makers has remained strong, according to industry sources.
Currently in the Taiwan market, China-based solar-grade silicon wafer makers quote US$1.03 per wafer on average while Taiwan-based makers quote US$1.01-1.05, the sources indicated.
When PV demand in the China market turned strong at the end of 2013, China-based solar-wafer makers hiked prices from below US$1 to as high as US$1.08-1.09 in the first quarter of 2014, pushing Taiwan-based makers to follow suit, the sources said.
Taiwan-based solar-wafer makers mainly include Green Energy Technology, Sino-American Silicon Products, Danen Technology, Eversol, and Utech Solar. Since Taiwan-based makers are considerably smaller than China-based makers in production scale and therefore less competitive in terms of costs, the China-makers mostly take the initiative in pricing, the sources indicated. Thus, Taiwan-based makers have been actively tapping markets other than Taiwan and China for higher profitability, the sources noted.
