A staff member arranges serving chopsticks on a table at a Hunan cuisine restaurant in Yuelu District of Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, April 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo)
BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's catering sector achieved a revenue of 437.2 billion yuan in October, up 0.8 percent year on year, and this is the first time for this sector in China to see a positive revenue growth this year, reported People's Daily Tuesday.
The catering sector is an important area for China to achieve steady growth and improve people's livelihood, as well as a "barometer" for the country's economic recovery.
The positive growth of the catering sector in revenue indicates the gradual recovery of confidence in domestic food and beverage consumption with the effective prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Han Ming, president with the China Hospitality Association.
It also indicates the gradual recovery of residents' spending power with improved employment and increased income under the trend of stable and long-term improvement of the national economy, added Han.
Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the revenue of China's catering sector dropped by 41 percent in the first four months of this year.
According to a report by China Cuisine Association, the revenue decline of the sector has continuously narrowed with the work and production resumption since May this year, and in the firs half of 2020, the operation of most catering companies in China has recovered to 70-80 percent of the pre-epidemic level.
The recovery of China's catering sector is also attributed to multiple consumption promotion policies.
The Ministry of Commerce held the National Consumption Promotion Month 2020 activities in September and October, and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, recently unveiled a work plan jointly with other central authorities to boost domestic demand and consumption.
"We have not changed our confidence in the long-term improvement of the catering industry. In the future, the catering consumption will develop in a green, health and safe manner, and new modes and new business will become the focus of industry innovation in the next step", said Han.
(Edited by Gu Shanshan with Xinhua Silk Road, gushanshan.1987@163.com)
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