Restaurants in Taiwan report biggest revenue drop in 20 years

TAIPEI, April 23 -- The revenue of catering businesses in Taiwan decreased by 21 percent year on year to 51.9 billion new Taiwan dollars (1.73 billion U.S. dollars) in March, the biggest drop in the past 20 years, the island's economic affairs department said Thursday.

Revenue in the catering industry in the first quarter also dropped by 6.6 percent year on year to 192.8 billion new Taiwan dollars, the most drastic reduction since the third quarter of 2003, the department said in a press release.

Affected by the spreading epidemic of the novel coronavirus disease, people's caution against dining out and the notable reduction of tourists due to epidemic control measures had led to the depression of the catering industry, the statement said.

However, the revenue of wholesale businesses increased by 7.9 percent year on year to 905.4 billion new Taiwan dollars in March, the highest over the same month of previous years.

The notable growth was partly due to the increasing demands for some raw material and electronic products for the sake of epidemic control, the statement said.

Suppliers began to deliver their products, delayed by epidemic control, and some buyers have taken precautions to expand their inventory in advance, which also caused the expansion of wholesaling, it added.