KUWAIT CITY, Feb 5: Chairperson of Kuwait Federation of Restaurants, Cafés and Catering Fahd Al-Arbash said the revenues of these establishments dropped by 40 percent recently, especially those serving ‘dine-in’ meals only, reports Al-Anba daily. Al-Arbash disclosed this happened after the Cabinet issued a decision to reduce the number of employees reporting for work and number of dine-in customers in accordance with health regulations aimed at curbing the spread of corona.

He said those offering delivery services were not affected and even earned higher as they took the market share of those serving ‘dine-in’ meals only. He pointed out the prices of raw materials that these establishments are using increased by 20 to 100 percent because the price of cooking oil increased by 40 percent compared to the price before the pandemic; while the price of butter increased by 100 percent, leading to about 30 percent decrease in profit margin. He added these establishments need to obtain approval from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry if they want to increase their prices, as well as present justifications for the price hike.