Mooncake makers expect big business this year

Vietnam’s confectionery makers are ramping up production of mooncakes for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival as they expect local demand to increase sharply this year on the strength of an improved economy.

Kinh Do, known as the country’s largest confectioner, said it will increase its mooncake production by 5.5 percent to 1,900 tons.

Another producer, Bibica, said it would raise mooncake output by 20 percent to around 500 tons. Saigon Givral, which focuses sales on Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, plans to double its production output this year.

Mooncakes are eaten and given as gifts in Vietnam during the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.

The festival is traditionally held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar year, which falls on September 22 of this year. Mooncake sales have already started taking off and are expected to peak in the next two weeks.

Several producers said mooncake prices will rise by at least 10 percent this year due to the higher cost of sugar, green peas and nuts.

Vietnam’s economy expanded 6.4 percent in April-June, compared with 5.83 percent in the first quarter.

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