Coronavirus has impacted food service business: NRAI

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on Thursday said there has been definite impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the overall food service business, with various segments being impacted in varying degrees.

"Banquets is the worst-hit segment, largely due to the travel curbs and a general avoidance of people in getting into larger gathering," the NRAI said in a statement.

In-restaurant dining is also seeing a big impact in the past few days, reporting an approximate business drop of 30-35 per cent, with the restaurants located within mall premises recording a sharper drop, it added.

The delivery segment, so far, is seeing the least impact, the statement said.

"The food service industry works on a fairly high proportion of fixed operating costs and, therefore, such sharp drop in revenues in going to cause severe losses for the businesses. If the situation doesn't improve immediately, we reckon that this will lead to business shutdown and job losses within the sector," it said.