China exported about 22.13 GW of solar modules in September, according to InfoLink Consulting data reported by TaiyangNews on 31 October. That is 45% more than the 15.26 GW shipped in August, but still 17% below the 26.75 GW shipped in September 2025.
InfoLink cautions against treating the month as a new baseline. It attributes the jump largely to the release of cargoes held back by earlier shipping disruptions and by higher freight and insurance costs.
A weaker year overall
The rebound does little to change the picture for the year. Exports from January to September reached 180.84 GW, down 12% from 206.17 GW in the same period of 2025.
The Middle East moves the month
The Middle East accounted for a significant share of the monthly increase. Shipments to the region reached 4.13 GW, up 153% from August, with Saudi Arabia taking about 2.45 GW.
Europe remained the largest market at 7.88 GW, up 21% on the month but 28% lower than a year earlier. Asia-Pacific took 5.84 GW, the Americas 2.72 GW and Africa 1.56 GW.
Cells head to Africa
Cell exports rose faster than modules. China shipped 14.01 GW of cells in September, up 79% from August and 25% from a year earlier. The nine-month total was 87.27 GW, up 12%.
Africa received 5.44 GW of those cells, about three and a half times the module volume it took that month. Kenya alone accounted for 3.45 GW, an increase of 382% in a single month.
The trackers do not agree on volume
Other counts of the same month differ, although all three show a rebound of 44% to 45%. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) puts September at about 23.92 GW, up 44.18% on August and down 6.67% on the year, with 184.66 GW for the nine months. Mysteel, citing Solarbe's assessment of customs data, reports about 23 GW and 172.5 GW for the nine months, with export value up 7.8% to US$19.64 billion despite the lower volume.
SMM also gives a more detailed view of two markets. It says Europe's increase, which it puts at 7.19 GW including 3.31 GW to the Netherlands, is not a broad recovery in end demand, because low power purchase agreement prices, grid constraints and rising module costs keep developers cautious. It puts shipments to the US at just 0.22 GW, held down by a Section 232 anti-stockpiling rule that took effect on 22 September.
What comes next
InfoLink expects only limited upward pressure on Chinese module export prices in the fourth quarter. It also warns that the surge in September and October shipments could become channel inventory from November, which could create pressure to clear stock in the first quarter of 2027.
What it means for module buyers
One strong month is not a recovery, and the year-to-date decline is still in double digits on InfoLink's count. For buyers in Asia-Pacific and beyond, the signal from InfoLink is that prices have little room to climb this quarter and that stock could build up early next year. Anyone comparing figures should check which tracker they are reading, since the September totals differ by almost 1.8 GW.
Source: TaiyangNews, based on InfoLink Consulting data. Additional figures from SMM via Now.Solar and from Mysteel.
