Sales in restaurants fall by up to 40%

The recession that Peru is going through is already being felt in the various economic activities, one of them being restaurants, which, after having been a sector hit hard by Covid-19, managed to reactivate; However, the low dynamism of the national economy has begun to have an impact on gastronomic businesses.

And since April of this year—the last month in which the economy grew—a slowdown in production in the restaurant subsector has been observed (see infographic).

Thus, after having achieved continuous growth for 28 months, restaurant activity contracted 0.73% in August of this year, according to official information from the INEI.

According to the statistical entity, this drop is explained by the closure of stores, shortages of certain products and the rise in food prices. In addition, lower demand was recorded in chicken shops, tourist restaurants, chifas, fast foods, meats and grills, Italian food and coffee restaurants.

In the words of the head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Alex Contreras, the low dynamism of the GDP is already infecting other areas.

“This drop in production is already being transferred to other sectors. Restaurants were a (field) that it grew and began to fall since August; That means the negative impact has begun. to be transmitted,” admitted the head of the MEF.

Lower consumption

Blanca Chávez, president of the Restaurant Committee of the Peruvian Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Related Services (Now Peru), points out that sales have been reduced by up to 40% in gastronomic establishments due to the lower influx of public and low consumption. .

“When there are people in the restaurants, they consume half of what they consumed before. It’s not because they charge a lot, but because one’s pocket is already affected. The salary is not enough and we are in a recession terrible,” adds the businesswoman.

The same panorama has been observed in cevicherías for a couple of months. Javier Vargas, president of the Association of Marine and Related Restaurants of Peru (Armap), comments that sales have fallen by 35% compared to a year ago.

Vargas also warns that this negative trend in the sector would lead to 10,000 businesses closing by the end of the year.

For his part, Javier Lizarzaburu, deputy general manager of La Pollerona, indicates that since this month they have begun to feel the impact of the recession, to which is added the state of emergency imposed in some Lima districts. He added that before sales grew at a rate of 10%; However, in October they have an advance of 1%.

Likewise, it explains that the average ticket in its chicken shops has dropped from S/79 to S/69, which has not been considerable because they have had to reinforce their promotions to boost consumption in their stores.

Employment in restaurants would fall by 15%

The representative of Ahora Perú indicated that due to the lower performance of the restaurants, businesses have been forced to reduce their staff.

“I’m almost sure that between 10% and 15% are unemployed (in the restaurant industry),” said Chávez.

Meanwhile, Vargas adds that many cevicherias from the north and south of the country have had to close because their business was no longer profitable. “This is happening every day, restaurants are having moments of crisis“, account.

Reactions

Javier Vargas, president of Armap

“Purchasing power has decreased and that is felt in sales every day. “People prefer to cook at home or order a menu instead of going to a restaurant where the average ticket is S/50.”

Blanca Chávez, Representative of Now Peru

“Restaurant sales have dropped 40%and if there are eight people, not everyone orders an appetizer and a main course, but rather a snack for everyone or a large main course for two or a cheaper one.”