Fiber optic prices continue to rise, Longfei Fiber sets a new historical high

On April 2, the fiber-optic sector continued to strengthen. Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (601869.SH) logged four consecutive daily limit-ups over eight sessions. Tefa Information (000070.SZ) and Hengtong Optic-Electric (600487.SH) rose by more than 6%, hitting a new historical high. Earlier, Huamai Technology (603042.SH) and Huiyuan Communications (000586.SZ) hit the daily trading limit, while Chengyitong (300430.SZ), Tongding Interconnection (002491.SZ), Zhongtian Technology (600522.SH) and others also followed higher.

A research report from Citic Securities said that in February this year, China exported 3,779.9 tons of optical fiber, with a value of 790 million yuan, up 63.6% and 126.8% year over year, respectively. If converted to fiber length, in February China exported about 25.2 million fiber-kilometers, accounting for roughly 65% of the effective monthly production volume of optical fiber in China.

In addition, China-made optical cable has seen a global surge in orders. A staff member at a company told reporters that starting from the end of last year, the company’s overseas order volume has grown noticeably. There are numerous orders from South America, the Middle East, Africa, and also Southeast Asia, and the delivery lead times are all required to be no more than half a month. In the first two months, this company’s optical fiber exports increased 51% year over year. Production is now scheduled at full capacity. During this period, the company is stepping up expansion of factory facilities, adding production lines, and boosting capacity to meet market demand.

Galaxy Securities noted that demand growth in the optical fiber and cable industry is significant, and industry prices have been raised sharply. In carriers’ centralized procurement, bid disqualifications and price-increase practices have repeatedly appeared. The increase in the tender unit price indirectly reflects the generally prevailing market situation that optical fiber and cable prices have been raised substantially. At the same time, this tender is for emergency procurement, which is more tilted toward the short term; combined with prior tenders that were paused due to changes in project circumstances, it may indicate that shortages of optical fiber and cable have already become fairly common.

Due to the rapid development of AI and computing power networks, together with the high difficulty of capacity expansion, fiber prices have continued to rise. A research report from China Galaxy Securities said that on the demand side, smart computing centers have seen a substantial increase in demand for DCI (data center interconnect), full-optical networks, and other areas. According to CWW and CRU data, in 2025 global demand for optical fiber and cable grew 4.1% year over year, while total demand for optical fiber and cable in data centers grew 75.9% year over year. In the future, this will drive global optical fiber demand to rise to 880 million fiber-kilometers by 2027. On the supply side, because the global expansion cycle for optical fiber preforms (optical fiber preform expansion cycle is about 2 years) is relatively long, but amid the backdrop of price pressure earlier, overall expansion has been comparatively conservative, and the market is currently leaning toward specialty optical fibers. Combining demand and supply on both ends, the institution believes that optical fiber and cable prices still have room to increase.