Restaurant Receipts Fall 25.9%

The value of total receipts of the restaurants sector in the second quarter of the year, provisionally estimated at $21.2 billion, fell 25.9% year-on-year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

The provisional value of total purchases by restaurants decreased by 24.7% to $7 billion.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total restaurant receipts dropped 26.9% year-on-year.

Total receipts of Chinese restaurants decreased 31.7% in value and 32.7% in volume. 

Total receipts of non-Chinese restaurants fell 22.3% in value and 22.6% in volume, while total receipts of fast food shops decreased 19.9% in value and 21.6% in volume.

Total receipts for bars dropped 46.5% in value and 48.4% in volume. Total receipts of miscellaneous eating and drinking places decreased 19.1% in value and 20.9% in volume.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of total restaurant receipts increased 5% in the second quarter compared with the preceding quarter, while the volume of total restaurant receipts rose 5.3%.

For the first half of the year, total restaurant receipts dropped 28.7% in value and 29.8% in volume year-on-year.

The Government noted that the value of total restaurant receipts continued to decline sharply year-on-year in the second quarter. But the decline narrowed from the record fall registered in the first quarter, thanks to the abated local epidemic situation and easing of social distancing measures in May and June.

It added the food and beverage sector’s business environment is expected to be highly challenging in the near term due to social distancing measures tightening again in response to the surge in local infection cases since July.