Shreevar Kheruka, Vice Chairman of Borosil Renewables, an Indian photovoltaic glass manufacturer, recently discussed the impact of exemptions from anti-dumping duties on imported photovoltaic glass on Indian photovoltaic module manufacturers in an interview with industry media. He also elaborated on and discussed other issues. The following is an excerpt from the interview.
What impact will the exemption from anti-dumping duties have on Borosil Renewables or other Indian photovoltaic glass manufacturers?
Kheruka: The Indian government abolished the anti-dumping duties on photovoltaic glass imported from China about a year ago. Since then, sales of Chinese photovoltaic glass in India have increased significantly. Chinese-made photovoltaic glass now accounts for more than 80% of the Indian market. I believe Borosil Renewables is more competitive, and our production costs are also competitive in the global market. However, we now have to compete with manufacturers who receive government subsidies, export subsidies, capital subsidies, and operating expense subsidies, which prevents us from gaining a competitive advantage. Therefore, we need a level playing field.
Do you think the Indian government needs to revise its policies to protect Indian photovoltaic (PV) glass manufacturers?
Kheruka: I hope Indian PV glass manufacturers will receive some policy support, because without government support, Indian PV glass manufacturers cannot expand their production capacity as planned. We have now shelved our expansion plans until we receive some clear support. Currently, Chinese PV glass companies sell their products at prices lower than the production costs of Indian PV glass manufacturers. Unless there is a level playing field, we cannot implement our expansion plans.
How will you implement your expansion plans under the implementation of tariffs?
Kheruka: After the implementation of tariffs, we expanded our PV glass production from 180 tons per day to 1,000 tons per day. Besides us, five other Indian PV glass manufacturers announced capacity expansions during this period, three of which have already started production, and two are building production plants. The implementation of tariffs has helped us invest more capital expenditure in this area. This is beneficial to the development of the Indian PV glass industry. The PV glass industry is a highly capital expenditure-driven industry, with a capital expenditure to turnover ratio of less than 1. This means that for every 100 rupees of capital expenditure we invest, we generate approximately 85 rupees of operating revenue annually. Therefore, we need longer-term policy support because the return on investment for photovoltaic glass manufacturing plants is at least seven years. We can only make expansion commitments with policy guarantees.
How are Borosil Renewable’s export partnerships developing in Europe?
Kheruka: Borosil Renewable recently acquired a German company that manufactures photovoltaic glass, the only photovoltaic glass manufacturer in the EU. We have invested in expanding our capacity to approximately 350 tons per day, which translates to an annual production of 2.5 GW of photovoltaic modules. We acquired this company to increase our sales volume in the European market. Chinese manufacturers are also selling photovoltaic products in Europe, and the European Parliament may take corresponding measures.
We export approximately 30% of our photovoltaic glass products to other countries, which allows us to survive and grow. These products are priced more favorablely than when sold in India, and we plan to increase this sales share in the future.
