F&B sales down 4.5% YoY in October to $659m

Restaurants experienced the most YoY decline at 24%. 

Food and beverage (F&B) sales dipped by 4.5% year-on-year (YoY) for the month of October 2021, the Department of Statistics Singapore reported. 

Overall, the total sales value of F&B services for the month hit an estimated $659m, with online sales making up around 38.4%. This is higher than the 34.1% recorded in the previous month.

Restaurants experienced the biggest YoY dip in performance at 24% due to tightened dine-in restrictions for the month, allowing only up to two fully vaccinated persons. 

Similarly, when compared on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, restaurants also experienced an 18.1 % decline due to the same restrictions. 

The remaining sectors had positive YoY performances—food caterers saw a 39% increase in sales; fast food outlets and cafes 10.1%, and food courts and other eating places, 5%. According to the report, this is due to the higher demand for food delivery services. 

MoM, this uptick in performance was also reflected with performances of 9.8%, 2.2%, and 1.9%, for food caterers, cafes, food courts & other eating places, and fast food outlets, respectively.