{"id":439173,"date":"2026-05-22T00:20:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/439173\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T00:20:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:20:39","slug":"chinas-solar-exports-to-africa-surge-83-as-power-crises-deepen-across-the-continent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/439173\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s solar exports to Africa surge 83% as power crises deepen across the continent"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n New Chinese customs data <\/a>released on Wednesday showed exports of solar cells and panels to African countries climbed 83% year-on-year in April to 123,787 metric tons, up from 67,552 tons in the same period last year. \n <\/p>\n


\n While shipments slowed from March\u2019s record 209,474 tons, analysts say demand remains unusually strong even after China ended its export tax refund policy on April 1, a move widely expected to increase global solar equipment prices. \n <\/p>\n


\n The March rush was largely driven by buyers worldwide scrambling to secure supplies before the policy change took effect. \n <\/p>\n


\n South Africa and Congo lead Africa\u2019s solar push \n <\/p>\n


\n South Africa remained one of Africa\u2019s largest buyers of Chinese solar products in April, with imports rising 81.4% year-on-year as businesses and households continued investing heavily in alternative power sources after years of rolling blackouts and energy instability. \n <\/p>\n


\n The Democratic Republic of Congo recorded one of the most dramatic jumps globally, with imports soaring 482% to 17,953 tons. \n <\/p>\n


\n The increase is significant for a country that still has one of the world\u2019s lowest electricity access rates despite holding vast reserves of minerals critical to the global energy transition, including cobalt and copper. \n <\/p>\n


\n Across Africa, solar energy is increasingly becoming both an economic necessity and a strategic investment. \n <\/p>\n


\n Several countries are facing mounting pressure from rapid urbanisation, industrial growth, weak grid infrastructure and rising fuel import costs, making renewable energy one of the few scalable long-term solutions. \n <\/p>\n


\n China\u2019s dominance in solar manufacturing has also made its products among the cheapest and most accessible for developing economies. \n <\/p>\n


\n China\u2019s clean energy influence keeps expanding \n <\/p>\n


\n Beyond Africa, Chinese solar exports to Southeast Asia also surged 75% year-on-year in April to 170,733 tons, although shipments eased from March\u2019s peak of 336,891 tons. \n <\/p>\n


\n Overall exports of Chinese solar cells and panels rose 60% on a per-unit basis in April, though total shipment volumes increased by a more modest 4% due to weaker exports to South Asia and the Middle East. \n <\/p>\n


\n The Netherlands remained the world\u2019s top importer by volume, with shipments valued at $380.8 million. However, import volumes into the European transit hub fell 2.5% year-on-year to 177,391 tons. \n <\/p>\n


\n The Philippines ranked as the second-largest importer globally, although volumes dropped sharply from March after buyers completed pre-policy purchases. \n <\/p>\n


\n The latest figures underline China\u2019s growing influence over the global energy transition at a time when countries are racing to expand renewable energy capacity, cut emissions and shield consumers from volatile fossil fuel prices. \n <\/p>\n


\n For Africa, the trend also shows a bold geopolitical reality: while Western governments continue debating climate financing and energy transition commitments, China is rapidly cementing itself as the continent\u2019s dominant supplier of renewable energy technology.<\/a> \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Chinese customs data released on Wednesday showed exports of solar cells and panels to African countries…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-439173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}