The value of total receipts for the restaurant sector was $12.5 billion in the first quarter. This represented a fall of 9% compared with the first quarter of 2002. Over the same period, the value of total purchases of restaurants also decreased by 9% to $4.3 billion.

These are the provisional figures on restaurant receipts and purchases released today by the Census & Statistics Department. This result could have been affected partly by the spread of SARS.

Analysed by type of restaurant, total receipts of Chinese restaurants decreased by 14% in value.

Meanwhile, the value of total receipts of fast food shops fell by 6%. Total receipts of non-Chinese restaurants fell by 1% in value but increased by 1% in volume.

On the other hand, total receipts of bars increased by 4% in value. Miscellaneous eating and drinking places saw total receipts increase by 3% in value.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, the volume of total restaurant receipts decreased by 4% in the first quarter.

After discounting the effect of price changes, total restaurant receipts fell by 7% in volume in the first quarter as compared to a year earlier.

Table 1 presents restaurant receipts and purchases for the first quarter.

Table 2 shows movement of total restaurant receipts in volume, first quarter 2000 - first quarter 2003.