F&B sector registers 9% drop in April, positive outlook for May

Restaurants and similar establishments (F&B) have reported a month-on-month drop of 9% in their business in April this year when compared to the previous month, information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) shows.
According to the same release, despite the drop, April 2021 was still a positive month when compared year-on-year to April last year, with the Business Performance Index (BPI) of the sector scoring 79.6 points.
This figure indicates that, in general, business for the sector in April fared better compared to the same month last year by about 29.6%. An even business performance would indicate a score of 50 points on BPI.
Recording less business in April this year when compared to March were mostly the sub-sectors of Japanese & Korean Restaurants and Western Restaurants, for whom business dropped 31% and 15% respectively.
As usual, the industry survey also included the business expectations for May. Some 56% of the interviewed F&B establishments said they expected their receipts to increase significantly month-on-month from April.
Leading the positive outlook are the Chinese Restaurants, who expect a business increase of 60% month-on-month for May this year, while Japanese & Korean Restaurants also expected to recover with a 27% increase. RM