While placing an order for the cakes, a traditional staple during the mid-autumn festival, which falls on Sept. 25 this year, Hoa was surprised to find that a box of four now costs VND830,000-850,000 (US$31.8-32.5) at many stores, and even VND1 million at some.
“I bought a similar box for just VND700,000 last year,” the woman who lives in HCMC’s Gia Dinh Ward said.
|
Mooncakes on sale at a supermarket in An Hoi Dong Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thi Ha |
At small bakeries and stores, cakes with fillings like red bean, taro, and lotus seed paste cost 7-8% higher this year while those with mixed fillings are up 10%.
Tran Tien Dung, owner of a decade-old mooncake bakery in HCMC’s Cau Kieu Ward, said he hiked prices by 15% after ingredient and labor costs rose by 30-40%.
Large manufacturers such as KIDO have made smaller increases of 3-5% for some varieties and kept the rest unchanged.
With the festival nearing, mooncakes are also widely sold online, where they are available with non-traditional fillings, such as tiramisu or molten salted egg, and advertised as homemade. These sell for just half or even a quarter of the prices quoted by stores.
But the HCMC Department of Food Safety has urged consumers to exercise caution when buying online, especially from sellers who do not clearly disclose their production facilities or sources of ingredients.