# Silicon: Trading

Why Guangzhou futures now set the daily price

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/trading/

What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.

There is no major Western futures contract. Most silicon metal and ferrosilicon is sold on negotiated contracts referenced to price-reporting agencies; the USGS series come from S&P Global Platts and CRU. China's Guangzhou Futures Exchange lists industrial silicon and polysilicon futures, which now give the most visible daily price. Buyers specify grades by trace iron, aluminium and calcium content, so material is less fungible than an LME metal. Polysilicon for chips is sold under long qualification-based contracts between a handful of producers and wafer makers.

#### Where it is bought (buyers)

- Silicone makers (Dow, Wacker, Shin-Etsu, Elkem) and aluminium casters in Germany, the US, Japan and Thailand buy silicon metal; Germany took 16.6% of world imports in 2024
- Steel mills and foundries in Japan, Korea, the US, Germany and India buy ferrosilicon (UN Comtrade 2024)
- Polysilicon makers buy chemical-grade silicon metal

#### Where it is sold (sellers)

- China exported 38.3% of world silicon metal by value in 2024, Norway 14.0% and Brazil 13.4% (UN Comtrade)
- China, Brazil, Malaysia, Norway, Iceland and Kazakhstan led ferrosilicon exports (UN Comtrade 2024)
- Ferroglobe, Elkem and Chinese producers such as Hoshine

#### Exchanges and benchmarks

| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX)** | Industrial silicon futures (from December 2022) and polysilicon futures (from December 2024) | Main exchange price for Chinese silicon |
| **No Western exchange contract** | Silicon metal and ferrosilicon trade bilaterally | Prices from Fastmarkets, Platts and CRU |

#### Contract types

- Annual and quarterly contracts with silicone and aluminium producers, often indexed to Fastmarkets or Platts
- Spot cargoes from China, Brazil and Norway
- Polysilicon long-term supply agreements with wafer makers

#### Top trading houses

- Producer sales arms dominate; no major trading house is named in the sources used

#### How prices are discovered

- S&P Global Platts Metals Week (used by USGS)
- CRU transaction prices
- Fastmarkets assessments
- GFEX futures and SMM spot prices in China

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/cycles/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/links/index.md)