Solar wafer firms inclined to follow solar cell firms to increase quotes Nuying Huang,Taipei;Jackie Chang,DIGITIMES[Wednesday 23 May 2012]Taiwan-based solar cell makers plan to increase prices as demand has been high.Solar wafer firms hope to follow suit.
The current price of 6-inch solar wafers is around US$1.05-1.25/unit.Industry sources noted that solar wafer firms have been suffering losses since 2011 and have been looking for opportunities to push pricing back to a reasonable level.Nevertheless,the magnitude of the price increase depends on the magnitude of the price increase of solar cell firms.
China-based solar firms have been requesting low quotes from Taiwan-based solar firms.The latter indicated that unless necessary,the firms have been inclined to take up limited orders from China.
The market indicated that Taiwan-based solar firms are likely to increase solar cell quotes by 15%.This means the price is likely to be around US$0.52-0.55/W compared to the current price of US$0.46-0.48/W.
Industry sources noted that if solar cell firms succeed in increasing quotes by 15%,solar wafer firms have a chance to increase quotes by 10%.
Solar wafer firms in Taiwan hope to return to profitabilityPhoto:Digitimes file photo
