Photo taken on Jan 3, 2020 shows a restaurant in Sham Shui Po district, Hong Kong, China. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HONG KONG - The year-on-year decline in the value of total restaurant receipts in Hong Kong enlarged sharply to 31.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020, the largest on record, according to figures released Wednesday by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The sharp decline came as the threat of the COVID-19 and the resulting need for travel restrictions and social distancing significantly weighed on the business, said a spokesman for the HKSAR government.

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Total receipts of fast food shops and bars decreased by 17.1 percent and 37.5 percent respectively in value

Analyzed by type of restaurant and comparing the first quarter of 2020 with the first quarter of 2019, total receipts of Chinese and non-Chinese restaurants decreased by 39.6 percent and 29 percent respectively in value, according figures from the HKSAR government's Census and Statistics Department.

Total receipts of fast food shops and bars decreased by 17.1 percent and 37.5 percent respectively in value. As for miscellaneous eating and drinking places, total receipts decreased by 25.9 percent in value.

The spokesman pointed out that while there has been some signs of relative improvement lately from the very austere situation earlier, the business environment of the food and beverage sector will remain difficult in the near term amid the economic recession.

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To preserve the vitality of the economy, the HKSAR government has rolled out relief measures of unprecedented scale, said the spokesman, adding that some of these measures, such as the specific support measures for the food and beverage sector and the enhancements to the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, should help the sector endure the current hardship.