Borosil Renewable Seeks More Protection For Indian Solar Glass Firms

Borosil Seeks More Govt Protection For Indian Solar Glass Firms

Indian solar glass manufacturer Borosil Renewable is now in favour of changes in government tender documents to ensure use of only ‘domestically produced solar equipment’ like solar glass. This, the management said, is needed to protect the Indian solar glass companies, which are plagued with the challenges emanating from the stiff competition from the Chinese solar glass companies which are allegedly dumping cheap solar glass in the country. 

The company said that as the government tenders mandate the use of only ‘Make in India’ solar modules, the same rule for the mandate of Make in India solar glass could protect the Indian solar glass companies like Borosil Renewable. 

“Government tenders for certain requirements mandate use of only domestically made solar cells and the modules. We are now petitioning the government to additionally mandate the use of other domestically made ancillaries, including solar glass in such tenders. This will help create a robust local supply chain and increase the use of domestically produced ancillaries,” Pradeep Kheruka, Executive Chairman of Borosil Renewable said. 

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In the latest investors’ call, Kheruka said that the recent announcement of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to reinstate the imposition of Customs Duty against the imports of solar glass in the country ended the long saga of such a demand from the industry. The management, however, is in favour of more protection from the government. It said that Chinese exporters have dropped their prices even further in their continued relentless dumping. 

“I am happy to share that the long-drawn saga to end the ill-conceived exemption from payment of basic customs duty on imports of solar tempered glass has finally yielded a positive outcome. The exemption ends on 30th September 2024, and a duty at a reduced rate of 10% will come into effect, although the duty in tariff was 15%…Chinese exporters have dropped their prices even further in their continued relentless dumping. For the domestic solar glass producers, getting ADD, CVD remains extremely important to assure industrial expansion,” Kheruka told the investors. 

Kheruka also said that in Q1FY25, the sales volumes of the firm rose by 23 percent quantitatively over Q1FY24. However, the lower selling prices meant that the rise in net revenue from operation was just 2 percent. The company also reported a 9.3 percent share from its turnover from its export market which stood at 6% in Q4FY24, showing an increase in export avenues for the firm. This, the company said despite a global demand slowdown. 

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The management also said that its German operations are also hit by the alleged dumping of cheap solar glass in the European market by the Chinese firms. He said that several solar glass companies in European countries had to shut down their operations after failing to withstand this Chinese glass dumping woes.

“The European Union has cleared legislation by member countries to incentivize the use of European-made solar modules by allowing tax subsidies and other measures. Countries like France, Italy and Austria have already taken steps to incentivize local production, but Germany, which is the largest producer, is yet to make an announcement. The Company continues to run full production by locating demand from alternate markets, although at lower selling prices. Cost optimization efforts are continuing at the plant besides enhancing production efficiencies,” Kheruka said while talking about its German operations.