Record numbers show Taiwan food-service sales decline

Taiwan foodservice sales have slumped by 21 percent year on year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ministry of Economic Affairs data revealed total F&B sales of NT$51.9 billion (US$1.73 billion) this year across the territory, the steepest decline since reporting on sales figures began in January 2000.

A parallel survey of Taiwanese restaurant sales saw a 23-per-cent drop in sales early this month. Figures revealed a downward trend in Taiwan foodservice sales before the government introduced social-distancing measures, with venues serving Chinese cuisine the most strongly affected.

Ministry deputy head of statistics Wang Shu-chuan said that full-month figures for April could see a similar drop of around NT$16 billion ($532.5 million).

General retail sales for the first financial quarter this year dropped 0.6 percent from last year to NT$924.5 billion ($30.8 billion), with revenues for March hitting NT$290.6 billion ($9.7 billion), down 3.4 percent. At the same time, e-commerce operators saw sales rise 19.1 percent year on year to NT$81.1 billion ($2.7 billion) during the first quarter.