China produced 349,700 mt of silicon metal in December, down 54,000 mt or 13.3% MoM but up 16.2% YoY, bringing total output from January to December 2023 up to 3.8008 million mt, up 8.5% YoY, according to SMM statistics.
The operating rate of silicon plants in Yunnan and Sichuan kept dipping in December, as silicon plants cut production starting late November, involving more than 50,000 mt of output. Despite production cuts/halts amid power rationing in northern Xinjiang, silicon metal production changed little in December, which boiled down to two reasons. One reason was that large silicon plants in Xinjiang made operating rate higher in early December, in spite of some restricted capacities in mid-to-late December. The other reason was that shutdown of some silicon plants in Yili occurring on December 26 exerting minimal impact on the output of the month.
In January, silicon plants in Sichuan and Yunnan will keep operating rate low, while some will cut production at the end of December or early January. In Xinjiang, restart date of silicon plants will be unknown. The operating rate of silicon plants in the rest regions will remain unaltered. In a word, there will be a question mark over domestic silicon supply in January, and the output is more likely to decrease.
