Price differentials of moon cakes before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival 4P Kelly Kam (13) Yoyo Ngai (24) Latia Wan (31) Fallon Wong (32)

Introduction The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people and Vietnamese people dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. The Mid-Autumn Festival is held when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as: The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching; moon cakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion. Moon cakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival, one of the three most important Chinese festivals. Our group will investigate on the price differentials of moon cakes, during and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as some of the special offers given, of different companies selling moon cakes in Hong Kong.

Supporting Evidence Price Differentials During After Mid-Autumn festival Mid-Autumn festival $150-$350 $100-$200 (Maxim) Mid-Autumn festival Mid-Autumn festival $200-$480 $150-$200 (Kee-Wah) Mid-Autumn festival Mid-Autumn festival $180-$250 $100-$150 (Saint Honore Cake Shop)

Line of Argument

Own Standpoint Are moon cakes more expensive during Mid- Autumn Festival? Price ($) Quantity /time D1D1 D2D2 S Q1Q1 Q2Q2 P1P1 P2P2 Demand and supply of moon cakes before Mid-Autumn Festival Moon cakes are used to celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival. As the Mid-Autumn festival is coming, the demand for moon cakes increases. The demand curve shifts rightward from D1 to D2. Quantity transacted increases from Q1 to Q2. The price of moon cakes rises from P1 to P2. Therefore, before the Mid- Autumn festival, the price of moon cakes tends s to be higher.

Are moon cakes cheaper after Mid-Autumn Festival? Price ($) Quantity /time D1D1 D2D2 S Q1Q1 Q2Q2 P1P1 P2P2 Demand and supply of moon cakes after Mid-Autumn Festival After the Mid-Autumn festival, demand for moon cakes drops. As the festival has past, people no longer need moon cakes. Their demand for moon cakes drops back to the original one. Demand curve shifts leftward from D1 to D2. Quantity transacted decreases from Q1 to Q2. The price of moon cakes falls from P1 to P2. Therefore, the price of moon cakes tends to be lower after the Mid- Autumn festival.

Interview

Summary of the Interview In this interview, it is mainly about the price of the moon cake before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes have increased their prices compared to the previous few years. And the most common reason that people may think leading the price to increase is that the price of the sugar increases. So the price will also increases as sugar increases. People may also think that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the price of the moon cakes will decrease. But however moon cakes are just usually sold before the Mid-Autumn Festival or during the Mid-Autumn festival but not after it. Some small shops may be exceptional cases if they do not sell all their moon cakes out, they may still put them in their shops for people who want to buy.

The price may also decrease as usually not much people think that it is necessary to buy moon cakes after the festival and small shops are usually not famous because people usually buy moon cakes to eat or give them to people as gifts. But after the festival it does not have anymore special meanings. Even famous shops will sell their moon cakes out during the Festival more expensive because more people know them and more people will choose them. So the small shops can also decrease their prices in order to attract more customers to buy them.

Conclusion Finished looking deep into and weighing the comparison of the price differentials of moon cakes during and after Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, a conclusion can finally be conducted. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, prices are set at higher amount due to the increasing demand for moon cakes. As the purchase of moon cakes is the traditional celebration during Mid-Autumn Festival, it has become a habit and necessity for Hong Kong people. Therefore, when it comes to Mid-Autumn Festival, demand for moon cakes increases and prices are adjusted to a more costly level. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, prices are set at a lower amount due to the decreasing demand for moon cakes. As the Mid-Autumn Festival has ended, Hong Kong people lose the meaning in purchasing moon cakes. As a result, to attract more customers in buying the products, companies lowered the price of moon cakes and clear the stocks as soon as possible. Our investigation conveys that moon cakes are more expensive during Mid-Autumn Festival and the prices of them drops right after Mid-Autumn Festival is ended.

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