Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Revenue Estimated at NT$150bn-plus in 2014
2015/01/28 | By Ken LiuTaiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) estimates Taiwan's photovoltaic industry generated revenue of NT$150 billion (US$4.68 billion) as of the end of 2014, up from 2013's NT$135.6 billion (US$4.23 billion), due chiefly to accelerating demand from China and Japan driven by sustained government subsidies for consumers.
The said projection is based on the ministry's statistics that show the Taiwanese industry in the first 10 months of 2014 generated revenue of NT$131.8 billion (US$4.11 billion), to have surpassed the total produced in 2012.
The ministry ascribes such promising revenue mostly to strong demand beginning in H1, 2014, and marketing efforts strengthened by the island's manufacturers in H2, which moderated the impact of U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidies probes into photovoltaic equipment imported from Taiwan and China.
The ministry's statistics show that the island's photovoltaic industry revenue reached a 2010 peak of NT$201.5 billion (US$6.29 billion) before tumbling to NT$96.4 billion (US$3.01 billion) in 2012 due to underselling competition from Chinese suppliers, and termination of government subsidies for consumers in Europe and America.
Over the past two years, Taiwan's photovoltaic industry has begun rallying after attrition has weeded out substandard suppliers to have gradually normalized the disrupted market.
Taiwan's photovoltaic industry depends on overseas market for 80-90% of sales despite accounting for less than 1% of the island's total manufacturing revenue. The bigger makers on the island include Neo Solar Power Corp. (NSP), Green Energy Technology Inc. (GET), and Motech Industries Inc.
China, regardless of its enormous output, was Taiwan's biggest export destination for solar-power equipment in 2014 by absorbing 37.1% of such exports, followed by Japan's 20.2%.
Although Germany came third, its dependence on Taiwanese supplies dropped to only 7.3% of such exports throughout the first 11 months of 2014, down from 10.2% in 2013, due to termination of governmental subsidies. During the same period of 2014, America only bought 2.3% of such exports from Taiwan, down from 2012's 10% or so mostly due to antidumping and anti-subsidies investigations.
MOEA officials say the sustainable growth of the island's photovoltaic industry revenue this year hinges on whether government subsidies will increase worldwide.
Taiwan's photovoltaic industry revenue jumped past the NT$100 billion (US$3.12 billion) milestone in 2008 from 2006's NT$10 billion (US$312 million) primarily due to the island's advanced semiconductor technologies and thin-film LCD technologies, according to the ministry.
(KL)
Export revenue of Taiwan's photovoltaic industry in Jan.-Nov. 2014
| Export destination
| Export value
| YoY change (%)
| Export percentage (%)
|
| Mainland China
| US$1.26bn
| 24.1
| 37.1
|
| Japan
| US$686M
| 24.9
| 20.2
|
| Germany
| US$246M
| -11.0
| 7.3
|
| Malaysia
| US$217M
| 82.9
| 6.4
|
| Canada
| US$131M
| 181.5
| 3.9
|
| South Korea
| US$94M
| 52.1
| 2.8
|
| America
| US$78M
| -55.9
| 2.3
|
| Total
| US$3.39bn
| 25.7
| 100.0
|