Moon cakes, a traditional dessert, is often sold in August and September every year to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sept. 21 this year. However, amid the complicated development of COVID-19, the production and consumption of mooncakes is witnessing a quiet ambiance on a contrary to the pre-pandemic times.

Many mooncakes are on display at the Big C Da Nang Mall for sale whereas the order quantity is quite small. Photo: QUYNH TRANG

The influence of COVID-19 has forced many mooncake shops along such downtown streets as Le Duan, Phan Chau Trinh and Nguyen Chi Thanh to temporarily close down.

Meanwhile, convenience stores, supermarkets, and grocery stores which trade in mooncakes have recorded a few shoppers over recent days.

According to Mr Phan Thong, Director of Co.opmart Da Nang, amid the tough time triggered by COVID-19, mooncakes are not an "essential" item. This supermarket, therefore, has not stockpiled many cakes made by domestic confectionary producers for sale.

Co.opmart Da Nang only sells mooncakes made by itself from such traditional ingredients such as green and red bean with VND69,000 set for a 2-cake box for sale to some customers in need.

“Co.opmart Da Nang produces these cakes every day in a very small quantity, usually deepening on customer demand, not in large quantities for display like the previous years,” said Mr Thong.

As surveyed at grocery stores selling moon cakes across the city, purchasing power is currently very low. The Yen Nga shop at 170 Le Do, which acts as an agent in Da Nang for many brands of mooncakes and receives large orders from companies and businesses, is witnessing a slump in sales.

In reality, the reduced income of consumers have made moon cakes a luxury product for many blue-collar workers

According to Ms. Dang Thi Tuyet, a resident in Khue My Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District said she did not order mooncakes due to tight spending amid the coronavirus resurgence. Besides, the high delivery fee also made her hesitate and decide not to buy this product item.

In addition to the labour shortage and the very low consumer demand, the scarcity and high costs of raw materials have made many food businesses cease moon cake production this year.

Buying cakes online is convenient, just a few steps and the cakes are delivered to your home, ensuring safety against COVID-19 infection. However, authorities have warned online customers to pay attention to the origin of products, as well as food safety and hygiene.

Reporting by QUYNH TRANG – Translating by A.T