China's Photovoltaic Module Exports Grow, European Market Demand Leads

China's photovoltaic exports decreased slightly, and the European market continued to grow, showing a high-speed growth momentum in the first half of the year.

Recently, according to a report released by China Customs data, in June this year, China's export volume of photovoltaic modules was 18.08 GW, a slight decrease of 5% compared to 18.99 GW in May. However, the cumulative export volume of photovoltaic modules in the first half of this year reached 106.1 GW, a 35% increase from 78.7 GW in the same period last year, showing that overseas markets showed a trend of rapid growth in the first half of the year.

01  European market: PV module imports grow steadily

Europe has always been one of the main markets for China's photovoltaic module exports. Data show that in June this year, Europe imported about 10.5 GW of photovoltaic modules from China, a year-on-year increase of 16%, but a month-on-month decrease of about 12%. Cumulative imports in the first half of the year were 62.4 GW, an increase of about 47% year-on-year.

Although the performance of the European market exceeded expectations in the first quarter, the growth in the second quarter was relatively stable. The quarter-on-quarter growth rate in the second quarter of this year was only 11.53%, which was a significant drop compared with 54% in the same period last year. This may be due to the inventory backlog caused by a large number of purchases in the first quarter, and the installation speed in European countries has not increased significantly, resulting in Demand being relatively weak in the second quarter.

Looking forward to the third quarter, due to the holiday factors in July-August, it is expected that under the current state, the efforts to pull goods will be slightly weakened. However, in the absence of a significant increase in installation speed, inventory will continue to affect market demand. In addition, the contract price of photovoltaic modules in Europe is expected to continue to decline, which is not only affected by the supply chain price but also shows relatively weak demand in the short term. Taking these factors into consideration, it is expected that the demand in the European market in the third quarter will be the same as that in the second quarter, and may even decline slightly.

02  Asia-Pacific market: stable demand, policy impact remains to be seen

In the Asia-Pacific market, China imported about 3.4 GW of photovoltaic modules in June this year, a month-on-month increase of 34% and a year-on-year increase of 24%. Cumulative imports in the first half of the year were 18.6 GW, a slight decrease of 2% compared to the same period last year.

The components exported from China mainly enter the Australian and Japanese markets. The development of photovoltaics in these two countries is relatively mature. In addition to relatively stable demand changes, policy subsidies are also mainly biased toward distributed photovoltaics, especially household industrial, and commercial photovoltaics. Although the fall in module prices this year is beneficial to the purchase, the actually installed demand is still affected by policies and economic conditions, so the annual demand needs to be viewed with caution.

03  Americas market: fluctuating trend, Brazil's demand continues to grow

In the American market, China's PV module imports were about 1.9 GW in June this year, a month-on-month decrease of 19%. Brazil, the largest demand country, imported about 1.2 GW this month, a decrease of 7% from the previous month; the cumulative import in the first half of the year was about 9.1 GW, a slight increase compared with the same period last year.

Demand in the Brazilian market has gradually declined since the first quarter of this year. This may be due to the inventory backlog caused by stockpiling from last year to the first quarter, and the impact of the new power framework this year on demand. However, in addition to Brazil, Chile's large-scale ground projects have grown significantly this year. In the first half of the year, imported photovoltaic modules reached 2.16 GW, a year-on-year increase of 72%, making it one of the fastest-growing emerging markets.

04  The Middle East and Africa Market: A Continuing Growth Trend

In June this year, the Middle East market imported about 1.3 GW of photovoltaic modules from China, a month-on-month increase of 26%. Cumulative imports in the first half of the year reached 5.9 GW, an increase of about 60% year-on-year. The main growth driver of the Middle East market came from Saudi Arabia, whose imports reached 791 MW this month, a year-on-year increase of 48%.

In the African market, about 1 GW of photovoltaic modules were imported from China this month, a month-on-month decrease of 15%, mainly due to the impact of the South African market. As a key market for photovoltaics in Africa, South Africa's demand for photovoltaics has grown rapidly this year, mainly because the government and residents are seeking alternative energy solutions due to power shortages. Although there is a growth momentum in demand, it is still necessary to overcome the problems of clothing machine capacity and power grid facilities in the short term. challenge.