Hong Kong restaurant sales eased up 2.7 per cent year-on-year in the latest quarter according to data from the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).
Total receipts were provisionally estimated at $27 billion and purchases by restaurants rose by 0.7 per cent to $9.1 billion.
However, after netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the provisional estimate of restaurant receipts slipped by 0.2 per cent for the quarter.
Chinese restaurant sales increased by 0.6 per cent in value but decreased by 2.8 per cent in volume. Non-Chinese restaurants increased by 3.3 per cent in value and 1.5 per cent in volume and fast food shops’ sales increased by 6.2 per cent in value and by 2.7 per cent in volume. Receipts of bars increased by 1.4 per cent in value and 1.2 per cent in volume, while “miscellaneous eating and drinking places” receipts rose 5.5 per cent in value and 2.1 per cent in volume.
The C&SD said that comparing the first three quarters of 2016 with the same period in 2015, it provisionally estimated restaurant receipts increased by 2.5 per cent in value, but decreased by 0.6 per cent in volume.
Analysed by month, it was provisionally estimated the value of total receipts of the restaurants sector increased by 4.2 per cent, 0.9 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively in July, August and September, compared with the corresponding months a year earlier.
“After discounting the effect of price changes, it was provisionally estimated that total restaurant receipts increased by 1 per cent, decreased by 1.9 per cent and increased by 0.3 per cent in volume respectively in July, August and September, compared with the corresponding months a year earlier.”