As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, consumers outside of China may have difficulty procuring the holiday's traditional delicacy, mooncakes. Recent reports tally the number of countries and regions with bans on the mail delivery of mooncakes at 34. Countries on the list include several in Asia, such as South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as European countries like Germany, France and Switzerland.

In addition, a number of countries have placed limitations on the mailed pastries without banning them completely. New Zealand has prohibited the mail delivery of mooncakes containing egg yolk and honey fillings; Australia requires the mail delivery address to be private and marked as a holiday gift, and also prohibits the delivery of mooncakes with egg yolk filling; the U.S. requires the recipient to apply in advance for an admission number from the FDA, and to mark that number on the delivery list. What's more, the U.S., Malaysia, Canada and Britain do not allow the mail delivery of mooncakes with egg yolk or meat fillings, Canada only allows private mail delivery of mooncakes and Britain requires the sell-by dates of delivered mooncakes not to exceed one month.

Records shows that 45 enterprises in Guangdong province are currently engaged in the exportation of mooncakes, mainly targeting Western countries. However, due to trade barriers, the majority of such exports are mooncakes with fillings of red bean paste, lotus seed paste and the “five kernel” flavor.

Meanwhile, the importation of mooncakes also carries constraints. Imported mooncakes will be returned or destroyed if they contain prohibited ingredients like meat and egg yolk.