The mooncake market is sluggish after Typhoon No. 10.

(Baohatinh.vn) - Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, but the traditional mooncakes of this "moon season" are still selling poorly due to the severe impact of Typhoon No. 10.

Due to the impact of Typhoon No. 10, the mooncake market in Ha Tinh was disrupted. However, immediately after the typhoon passed, the market resumed operations in some areas. According to observations, on streets in Ha Tinh such as Phan Dinh Phung, Ha Huy Tap, Nguyen Huy Tu, etc., mooncake stalls have reopened, but with few customers.

The number of customers buying mooncakes at the stalls was sparse.

Mr. Hoang Kim Nga, manager of the Omeli bakery on Phan Dinh Phung Street (Thanh Sen Ward), said: “This year, the Omeli bakery invested nearly 1 billion VND in inventory. Before typhoon No. 10, sales were quite good, averaging over 10 million VND per day. The recent storm forced us to close for 3 days. Immediately after the storm subsided, we put up our awnings again to sell, but there weren't many customers, and revenue dropped to only about 1-2 million VND per day.”

The Omeli bakery counter has just been set up again after the storm to serve customers.

More than two hours have passed, but the Huu Nghi mooncake stall on Nguyen Huy Tu Street (Thanh Sen Ward) has only had one customer. Ms. Phan Thi Thuy, a stall employee, shared: “There are only 3 days left until the Mid-Autumn Festival, but we still have a lot of mooncakes left. Sales have dropped by more than half compared to before the storm. Most customers just stop by to ask about prices and information, then leave.”

Choosing a box of mooncakes for her grandchildren, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Huyen (Cam Xuyen commune) shared: "In previous years, I used to buy them early and choose many different flavors for the children. This year, due to the storms and floods, my family had to spend money on house repairs, so we couldn't buy as many as before."

Ms. Huyen is checking the price list for mooncakes at the Huu Nghi bakery on Nguyen Huy Tu Street.

Not only are established brands facing difficulties, but new brands entering the Ha Tinh market are also being severely affected. Slow sales and weak purchasing power are causing many stall owners to worry, especially since they still have a large quantity of cakes to import.

Ms. Pham Doan Ha Thu, manager of the Chamcham mooncake stall on Phan Dinh Phung Street (Thanh Sen Ward), shared: “This is the second year Chamcham mooncakes have been sold in Ha Tinh. This year, the stall only imported about 1,000 cakes, with prices ranging from 80,000 to 1,000,000 VND per cake depending on weight and type. In the days following the storm, the number of customers visiting the store each day was no more than 10 people, mainly those buying gifts.”

As it's a seasonal business, Ms. Thu hopes that in the next few days, more customers will come to buy so she can sell off all the cakes she has imported.

While waiting for customers, Ms. Thu took the opportunity to arrange her pastry counter neatly to attract buyers.

Weak purchasing power is a common observation in this year's Mid-Autumn Festival market. According to shop owners, most people buy mooncakes as gifts, while very few buy them to eat themselves.

Shop owners selling mooncakes say that the recent storms and floods have made business difficult. Many charitable groups, localities, agencies, and organizations have announced the cancellation of Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, allocating funds to purchase essential supplies to help people recover from the aftermath of the storms and floods.

Besides unfavorable weather conditions, other factors affecting the purchasing power of bakeries include the abundance of handmade and inexpensive cakes flooding the Ha Tinh market.

Besides the sharp decline in sales at bakeries, many catering and event organizing businesses are facing a similar situation as the number of canceled orders has increased significantly.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Thanh, owner of a Mid-Autumn Festival catering business on Cao Thang Street (Thanh Sen Ward, Ha Tinh), said that since last month, she had received orders from 100 organizations to prepare meals for children celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, by yesterday, the number of canceled orders had reached 90, and the remaining 10 organizations had reduced the number of meals to a minimum.

"The estimated cost of importing ingredients to make the feast was about 20 million VND. Although the orders didn't sell well, I feel very happy because it's something worth doing, showing the solidarity of the people. Therefore, I returned all the deposits to the businesses that canceled their orders," Ms. Hong Thanh shared.

The severe impact of Typhoon No. 10 has led to a decline in mooncake sales, causing many businesses to struggle to meet their usual expectations. However, many shop owners still hope for a turnaround in the days leading up to the festival, seeing it as an opportunity to boost morale after the disaster and maintain a beautiful traditional cultural aspect of people's lives.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/thi-truong-banh-trung-thu-am-dam-sau-bao-so-10-post296788.html