"Why Are Mooncakes Not Selling?" A Glimpse of China's Domestic Demand Slump

China Mooncake Sales Decline Leads to Sharp Drop in Related Stocks

"Why aren't mooncakes (月餠) selling?"

During this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday (on the 17th), this sentence became a popular search term on local social media in China, where consumption has sharply slowed due to the economic downturn, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 19th.

According to the report, recently on China's Weibo, the phrase "Why aren't mooncakes selling?" attracted over 81 million views and more than 7,500 comments, becoming a major topic of discussion. Mooncakes are traditional pastries exchanged as gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is China's version of Chuseok. One netizen wrote on Weibo, "Our company's mooncake purchases this year have decreased by two-thirds compared to last year."

On the 14th, a mooncake manufacturer in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
[Photo by Yonhap News]

As a result, related stocks also plunged. The stock price of Guangzhou Restaurant, a mooncake manufacturer listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, dropped more than 3% on the first trading day after the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the morning of the 18th. Another major mooncake maker, Zhejiang Wufangzhai, also saw its stock price fall by 4%.

According to last month's market report by the China Bakery Industry Association, a total of 320,000 tons of mooncakes were produced last year, generating sales of 22 billion yuan (approximately 4.1 trillion KRW). This year, production decreased to 300,000 tons and sales dropped to 20 billion yuan (about 3.8 trillion KRW). Production volume fell by 6%, and sales revenue declined by 9%.

The atmosphere of exchanging high-priced luxury mooncakes has also changed. According to retail monitoring agency BrandCT.cn, the main price range for mooncakes this year was 70 to 200 yuan (approximately 13,000 KRW to 37,600 KRW), narrowing from last year's 80 to 280 yuan (about 15,000 to 52,600 KRW). Additionally, high-end products priced over 500 yuan (around 94,000 KRW), which were mainly sold as gifts, have almost disappeared. The three best-selling mooncake varieties on China's Douyin Mall were priced below 30 yuan (about 5,600 KRW): 10 pieces for 9.9 yuan (approximately 1,860 KRW), 10 pieces for 29.9 yuan (about 5,600 KRW), and 8 pieces for 19.9 yuan (around 3,700 KRW).

SCMP noted, "The sluggish sales of mooncakes, an essential item for China's Mid-Autumn Festival, cast more concerns over weak domestic demand and the national economy," adding, "The mooncake market has frozen for the second consecutive year amid China's economic slowdown."

Although Chinese authorities are focusing on boosting domestic consumption, consumers' wallets remained tightly closed even during the Mid-Autumn Festival. According to Huatai Securities, hotel and airline prices in China during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday fell to off-season levels. The Baidu Mobility Index, which tracks population movement within China, showed that interregional travel on the first day of the holiday, the 15th, was lower than during the Dragon Boat Festival in June or the Qingming Festival in April.

Data from travel site Trip.com indicated that flight fares for domestic and international routes during the upcoming National Day holiday early next month have also dropped more than 20% compared to the same period last year. SCMP also reported that hotel prices have decreased accordingly.