Inverter Exports Increased MoM in October 2024 as Demand in the Middle East and Asia Rebounded [SMM Analysis]

Recently, the General Administration of Customs released import and export data for inverters for October 2024.

In October 2024, inverter exports reached 4.4381 million units, up 42.7% YoY and up 3.3% MoM; imports were 131,300 units, down 42.2% YoY and down 48.8% MoM. Cumulative exports for January-October 2024 totaled 44.4813 million units, down 0.11% YoY.

By province:

Zhejiang's cumulative exports were 2.0963 million units, up 55% YoY and up 12.4% MoM, with major companies including Ginlong, Deye, Hoymiles, APsystems, and Solax;

Guangdong's cumulative exports were 1.3965 million units, up 35.5% YoY and down 0.3% MoM, with major companies including Huawei, Growatt, Sofar, Kstar, and Hopewind;

Jiangsu's cumulative exports were 276,900 units, up 12.8% YoY and up 15% MoM, with major companies including GoodWe, Sineng Electric, and Aiswei;

Anhui's cumulative exports were 64,600 units, up 31.2% YoY and up 39% MoM, with major companies being Sungrow's domestic base and GoodWe's Guangde factory.

By export destination, in October 2024, inverters were exported to 191 countries and regions. Exports to Europe totaled 747,500 units (accounting for 16.8% of the total, down 15.8% MoM). Exports to Africa totaled 1.1782 million units (accounting for 26.5%, up 9.9% MoM). Exports to the Middle East totaled 528,600 units (accounting for 11.9%, down 6.1% MoM). Exports to Asia totaled 1.5242 million units (accounting for 34.3%, down 7.7% MoM). Exports to the top 10 countries were 1.8232 million units (accounting for 41.1%).

The top five export destinations were the US, the Netherlands, Senegal, Brazil, and Tanzania. Exports to the US were 543,900 units, up 63.4% MoM and up 91.5% YoY; exports to the Netherlands were 190,800 units, down 31% MoM and up 23.2% YoY; exports to Senegal were 184,700 units, up 15.6% MoM and up 316% YoY; exports to Brazil were 154,600 units, up 117.9% MoM and up 57.3% YoY; exports to Tanzania were 129,900 units, up 35.4% MoM and down 20.1% YoY.

In Q1 and Q2 of this year, inverter exports were lower than the same period last year. However, by October, inverter exports had nearly matched last year's figures. After effective destocking of overseas inverter inventory in H1, export demand for inverters surged to a high in Q3.

In terms of export volume, except for Africa, which saw MoM growth, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia all experienced varying degrees of MoM decline.

In the Asian market, procurement demand in India and Pakistan rebounded. As India approaches year-end and Q1 of the following year, the construction pace of large projects is accelerating, and household PV subsidies are strengthening, leading to a renewed rise in overall inverter demand. Although Pakistan saw a MoM decline possibly due to electricity price controls, the base remains.

In the Middle Eastern market, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey saw MoM declines, while the UAE, Qatar, Morocco, and Yemen showed positive growth.

In the European market, countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland experienced slight MoM declines. As year-end approaches, PV demand in Europe weakened, but demand for energy storage in countries with high household energy storage penetration drove inverter exports, increasing the share of energy storage products. The release of previous inventory pressure in Europe led to increased procurement willingness among distributors.

In the Latin American market, Brazil saw MoM growth, while Mexico saw a MoM decline. This is attributed to the seasonal factors in Latin American countries, where complex and variable weather characteristics significantly impact project construction.