China is the country with the largest number of silicon metal manufacturers. According to the 2020 Global Silicon Metal Production Survey, China's silicon metal production accounts for 69.3% of the global silicon metal output. Since China has a large number of raw material resources of silicon metal, the silicon metal produced in China has the advantage of low cost and high quality. Although Brazil, Norway, the United States, France and other countries are also major countries producing silicon metal, they are subject to technology and raw material costs. The reason is that its advantages cannot be compared with China's. Because of this, China's silicon metal manufacturers have attracted silicon metal users from around the world, mainly from aluminum ingots, steelmaking, casting, metallurgy, silicon products, and other industries.
China is the country with the largest output of silicon metal, but its output is showing a downward trend year by year. According to the survey, the period from 2016 to 2018 is the development stage of solar photovoltaic, new energy vehicles, electronic information, and other fields, and the demand for silicon metal is also In 2018, the annual output of Chinese silicon metal manufacturers was as high as 3.52 million tons, but after 2019, with the emergence of the epidemic, the output of Chinese silicon metal manufacturers was also affected, and the output in 2020 fell to 3 million tons, But it is still the world's largest producer of silicon metal.
China is the country with the most advanced silicon metal production technology in the world. Usually, silicon metal manufacturers use silica, petroleum coke, charcoal, graphite electrodes, etc. as raw materials for silicon metal, which are produced through electric furnaces. Silicon aluminum alloy, silicon carbide, and other industries, among which organosilicon is the largest customer group of silicon metal manufacturers. With the rapid development of semiconductors, energy vehicles, 5G, and other fields in recent years, the output of organosilicon has been increasing, and it has also promoted silicon metal. With the development of the silicon industry, in 2021, China's organic silicon production will increase by 6.9% year on year, with an output of 1.39 million tons.
With the development of the epidemic, many industries have been affected to varying degrees. The rise in raw materials has led to high prices of silicon metal. Users mainly take a wait-and-see attitude. In order to reduce risks, silicon metal manufacturers limit the production of silicon metal. At the same time, China has been managing silicon metal manufacturers since the implementation of environmental protection policies. The epidemic and the impact of environmental protection policies have greatly affected the output of Chinese silicon metal manufacturers. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused many customers to turn to China to buy silicon metal. It has also led to large fluctuations in market prices. Although prices have risen, Chinese silicon metal manufacturers have not benefited greatly from it. Many users still take a wait-and-see attitude and keep inquiring with manufacturers.
From a regional perspective, at present, Chinese silicon metal manufacturers are mainly concentrated in Xinjiang, Yunnan, Sichuan, and other places. The main reason is that in the production process of silicon metal, the cost of raw materials and fuel accounts for nearly 80%. Therefore, in order to save costs, most enterprises focus on In Xinjiang, Yunnan, Sichuan, and other regions where raw materials are abundant or electricity costs are low. In 2020, the top three silicon metal manufacturers in China are mainly concentrated in regions such as Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Sichuan, so if you want to find more silicon metal manufacturers in China, you can find them in the above regions.
