THE food and beverage (F&B) industry is doing much better as opposed to last year, with operators getting back on their feet again, the Malaysian F&B Operators Alliance said.  

The operators said while customers were coming back, their income was hit by high operating costs. 

The organisation’s representative Joshua Liew said business had increased by 80% for most operators.

“There is a significant increase in the F&B business, but profitability is another issue. 

“We are selling more, but not making more (money). This is due to the increase in cost of food products and manpower,” he told The Malaysian Insight. 

Liew said there were about 1,500 members who were operating at over 10,000 locations nationwide. 

He said getting workers wasn’t easy as operators sought skilled manpower to become trained F&B staff.

“There is the minimum wage and operators also have to pay more to attract talent. We are looking for workers with experience and those who have what it takes to do the job.

“In terms of getting staffing, it has improved slightly, I would say 50% better than last year.  

“In the last six months of 2022 there was an acute shortage of workers. We are now coming to the level where we can find people to work with.”

Liew said in terms of dining out, businesses are back to pre-pandemic levels.

“Overall, people are still frequenting the outlets, malls, standalone restaurants and bars.”

Less profit for stall operators  

Meanwhile, Malaysian Federation of Hawkers and Traders Association president Rosli Sulaiman said its sector had yet to recover as stall operators were still struggling to make profits. 

“They can still maintain their customers but the high cost of goods is preventing them from making a profit. 

“We also believe the people’s spending power has reduced. Prices of goods have gone up but people’s salaries are still stagnant.

“Previously customers used to take more dishes, now they just stick to basics such as vegetables with chicken or fish. No additional dishes.”

The association has about 1.8 million members nationwide where 60% are in the food business. 

He also said many people were not eating out like previous years as they were more prudent now. 

Rosli said the drop in customers could be between 30% to 50%. 

“More people are saving now in this economic situation and prefer to eat at home. Even at some restaurants, prices have gone up.

“Previously we could get a meal between RM7 to RM10 with a drink, but now it’s between RM13 to RM15. 

“Just imagine a family of five going out to eat. How much will they spend?”

He, however, said hawkers could not raise their prices because they would lose customers by doing so.

Stagnant businesses

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Bumiputera Traders and Hawkers Association president Muhamad Baba Kutty said hawker businesses had been stagnant since early this year. 

“It’s still the same. Nothing much has increased. Hawkers are still complaining that it is difficult to get (reasonably priced) food products. 

“They also don’t see many people on weekdays, but on weekends there is a crowd. It could be the economic situation and high cost of living. 

“We see the hawkers now getting about 30% to 50% customers. We hope to see things improve in the coming months.”

The association has about 4,000 members where more than 80% are in the food business. 

He said another big challenge was getting workers to operate their businesses. 

“Some hawkers can’t open because they can’t get workers. How are they going to operate if there is only one person going to market, cooking and doing other things? How are they going to cope? 

“We hope the government can allow us to hire one or two foreign workers. We cannot depend on locals because there are no takers.” – May 29, 2023.