Chinese New Year lifts restaurants, food caterers to double-digit sales

Huge boost on year-on-year numbers.

SingStat revealed that the Chinese New Year drove sales in both food & beverage segments, pushing restaurant receipts up 16.3% and food caterers by 11.4%. Fast food outlets also saw a sales pick-up of 6.1% growth year-on-year, although other eating places like cafes and canteens sold 3.7% less than the previous year.

Here's the complete data, including month-on-month data, from SingStat:

Sales of Food & Beverage Services by Sector - Month-on-Month Change (Seasonally Adjusted)

After seasonal adjustment, receipts of fast food outlets and other eating places (such as cafes and canteens) decreased 6.9% and 2.1% respectively in February 2013 over January 2013. On the other hand, food caterers and restaurants recorded an increase in receipts of 3.4% and 1.1% respectively compared to the previous month.

Sales of Food & Beverage Services by Sector - Year-on-Year Change

Compared to February 2012, restaurants and food caterers recorded a double-digit increase in receipts of 16.3% and 11.4% respectively in February 2013, partly due to higher sales during the Chinese New Year period. Turnover of fast food outlets also rose 6.1% respectively over the previous year. In contrast, turnover of other eating places decreased 3.7% in February 2013 over February 2012.