India almost doubled its imports of silicon wafers from China in 2023, highlighting India’s expansion in solar cells and modules amid rising dependence on China’s materials.
According to the General Administration of Customs of China, China exported silicon wafers worth US$318 million in 2023 to India, up 91.2% from a year ago. India was the fifth-largest importer of silicon wafers from China after Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan. About 83.5% of silicon wafers exported from China to India were monocrystalline wafers larger than 150mm.
Monocrystalline silicon wafers are used to make diodes, transistors, chips, or solar cells, and India’s expansion in solar manufacturing capacities requires more wafer imports to meet its domestic and overseas demands, particularly when the US restricts solar imports from China starting in 2022 due to forced labor issues in Xinjiang. Besides, India’s ambitious plan to build a local chipmaking ecosystem also entails rising dependence on foreign-made wafers.
Solar Quarter reported that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Power of India announced that India has achieved self-sufficiency in producing solar modules and exported US$1.03 billion of solar panels in fiscal 2023 (April 2022 to March 2023). Although India made significant progress in making solar panels and modules through incentive policies, a white list allowing only locally-made solar devices to be procured by public projects, and a restrictive customs duty structure discouraging imports, the country is highly dependent on foreign wafers.
In early April, Reuters reported that Adani Group had begun commercial production of wafers and ingots used for solar cells and modules at its Gujarat factory, aiming to become an integrated renewable energy player. However, it is notable that Adani makes polysilicon at its factory, which offers lower efficiency than solar modules made of monocrystalline silicon. Meanwhile, in 2022, Adani Group announced it developed India’s first large-sized monocrystalline silicon ingot in the Mundra manufacturing plant.
China’s exports of silicon wafers (US$m)
Destination
2021
2022
2023
2024/1~2
Thialnd
552.41
963.75
1,298.45
146.72
Vietnam
644.65
1,330.08
1,228.17
74.53
Malaysia
746.42
1,304.97
999.14
73.64
Taiwan
565.04
756.78
488.28
57.32
India
138.71
166.60
318.55
44.21
Japan
246.27
305.37
258.00
42.79
Others
1,037.95
1,562.15
1,789.12
158.22
Source: China Customs, April 2024
India silicon wafer imports from China (%)
Type
2021
2022
2023
Jan-Feb 2024
Monocrystalline silicon wafers less than 150mm
0.05%
0.07%
0.04%
0.03%
Monocrystalline silicon wafers larger than and equal to 150mm
10.88%
11.06%
83.49%
98.17%
Others
89.08%
88.87%
16.48%
1.80%
Source: China Customs, April 2024