Shreevar Kheruka, vice chairman of Borosil Renewables, an Indian photovoltaic glass manufacturer, recently mentioned the impact of exempting imported photovoltaic glass from anti-dumping clauses on Indian photovoltaic module manufacturers in an exclusive interview with the industry media. He also elaborated and discussed some other issues. The following is an excerpt from the interview.
Q: What impact does the exemption of anti-dumping import clauses have on Borosil Renewable or other Indian photovoltaic glass manufacturers?
Kheruka: The anti-dumping duty imposed by the Indian government on photovoltaic glass imported from China was cancelled about a year ago. Since the cancellation, the sales of China photovoltaic glass in India have greatly increased. Photovoltaic glass produced in China now accounts for more than 80% of the Indian market. I think Borosil Renewables is more competitive, and our production cost is also very competitive in the global market. However, we now have to compete with manufacturers who receive government subsidies, export subsidies, capital subsidies and operating expenses subsidies. These factors prevent us from gaining a dominant position, so we need a fair market environment.
Q: Do you think the Indian government needs to revise its policies to protect Indian PV ring glass manufacturers?
Kheruka: I hope that Indian PV ring glass manufacturers will get some policy support, because without the support of the government, Indian PV glass manufacturers will not be able to expand their production capacity as planned. We have put the expansion plan on hold until we get some definite support. At present, the product price of China Photovoltaic Glass Company is lower than the production cost of Indian Photovoltaic Glass Manufacturers. We can't implement the expansion plan unless there is a level playing field.
Q: How will you carry out the expansion plan with the implementation of tariffs?
Kheruka: After the implementation of tariffs, we expanded the production of photovoltaic glass from 180 tons to 1,000 tons per day. In addition to us, five other photovoltaic glass manufacturers in India announced the expansion of production capacity during this period, three of which have already started production, and two are building production plants. The implementation of tariffs has helped us to invest more capital expenditure in this area. This is beneficial to the development of photovoltaic glass industry in India. Photovoltaic glass industry is a highly capital expenditure driven industry, and the ratio of capital expenditure to turnover rate is less than 1. This means that every time we invest 100 rupees in capital expenditure, the annual operating income is about 85 rupees. Therefore, we need longer policy support, because the investment payback period of photovoltaic glass production plants is at least 7 years. We can only make a commitment to expansion if we have a policy guarantee.
Q: How is Borosil Renewable's export partnership in Europe developing?
Kheruka：Borosil Renewable recently acquired a German company that produces photovoltaic glass, which is the only photovoltaic glass manufacturer in the European Union. We have invested in expanding the production capacity to about 350 tons per day, which means that 2.5GW of photovoltaic modules will be produced every year. We bought this company in order to increase the sales scale in the European market. China manufacturers also sell photovoltaic products in Europe, and the European Parliament may take corresponding measures.
About 30% of our photovoltaic glass products are exported to other countries, which enables us to survive and develop. The prices of these products are more favorable than those sold in India, and we plan to increase our sales share in the future.
