The answer has to be yes! Many Asian manufacturers are already openly announcing price reductions, which had already been gradually introduced some time ago -- but more on that later.
After a short breather in March, wide-ranging price reductions are on the horizon. Chinese manufacturers are leading the way, with all others having to follow suit. February’s price increase of Asian products was ultimately of short duration and will effectively be reversed again in April.
This downward adjustment is urgently required, at least in the European market. The challenge now is to improve the subdued mood and end the general paralysis clouding the market despite the summer temperatures and perfect weather conditions for PV installation. After a very quiet February and a no less sleepy early March, customers and installers are finally waking up. In late March and the first weeks of April, more orders have likely been placed than in the entire previous weeks this year.
The situation is also becoming trickier for Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers. Over the last few months goods have piled up, creating not insignificant stock levels. Many suppliers have imported their modules or stored them in European customs warehouses without having a buyer in order not to lose the allowed quotas. A reduction in the approved amounts threatens if the negotiated import volumes are not consistently achieved.
The market slowdown in Europe has put China's photovoltaic companies under pressure and ultimately led to new negotiations with the European Commission. The latter has evidently been persuaded that changes are needed. The new minimum import price, which ranges between €0.53 and €0.54 per watt, according to unconfirmed statements, is at a level that has already more or less widely established itself in the market through more or less sophisticated evasive tactics on the part of the manufacturers and importers, in defiance of EU directives.
These evasive tactics could prove costly to some manufacturers, however. Entire shiploads are currently being subjected to special investigations by customs authorities and are therefore lacking in the market. Some contingents are even being withdrawn from Europe after weeks of the customs blockade. This will presumably have no effect on any further price trends, however.