"98.4% Dependence on China in the Solar Material Sector"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] As the government accelerates the expansion of renewable energy such as solar power, Chinese companies are also aggressively entering the domestic solar market.

According to statistics from the Korea International Trade Association on the 18th, the import value of Chinese solar modules in the first half of this year (January to June) was $169.543 million (approximately 204.3 billion KRW), a 22.0% increase compared to the first half of last year. Among the solar modules imported by South Korea worldwide in the first half of this year, the proportion of Chinese products reached 98.4%. Modules refer to the large panels installed in solar power plants.

The amount South Korea exported to China during this period was $1.079 million (1.3 billion KRW). Although this figure surged more than 16 times compared to the same period last year ($65,000), it accounted for only 0.6% compared to the import value of Chinese products. In terms of trade balance, there is a deficit of more than $160 million.

According to the Korea Photovoltaic Industry Association, China holds more than 70% of the global market share in cells and modules, which are the stages before modules. Chinese companies have launched an offensive to enter the Korean market by leveraging price competitiveness in line with the Korean government’s solar power expansion policies and market growth. Korean products are generally priced about 10-15% higher than Chinese ones.

An industry official said, "There is high demand for domestic modules in small and medium-sized solar power plants, but large solar power plants prefer low-priced Chinese products due to differences in construction costs."