Weak demand in the solar market continues to put pressure on the prices of upstream materials such as wafers. According to industry sources, six-inch solar wafers have been quoted below US$2.5/unit by first-tier China-based manufacturers, a 15-25% fall from quotes in March. This is the lowest quotation since the financial crisis in 2009.

Industry sources in China pointed out that not all cell firms are able to receive this level of quotes. Only firms under long-term supply contract and has large-scale demand can obtain prices like this.

China-based firms such as GCL-poly, LDK, Yingli and Suntech have been aggressively achieving vertical integration to gain competitiveness and capture profit margins in all segments of the supply chain.

Price of solar wafers continues to fall
Photo: Terry Ku, Digitimes, May 2011