KOCHI: The Covid-19 outbreak has left the catering and allied industries in tatters, with around 50 lakh persons affected directly and indirectly due to the closure of auditoriums and the directive restricting public gatherings and events.The losses have run into several crores of rupees and the situation will worsen if the Covid-19 scare continues till Easter and Vishu when the most number of marriages are set to take place across the state.
The state has nearly 5,000 large and small-scale catering agencies, with 700 catering companies functioning in Kochi alone. Prince George, president of All-Kerala Caterers Association (AKCA), said the entire event management sector will suffer a loss close to Rs 1,000 crore in March. “The catering industry, which plays a major role in the event management sector, is alone expected to suffer a loss of `200 crore this month. It is one of the worst situations the industry is facing. Covid-19 hit when the marriage season was about to peak. Caterers make investments to upgrade their facilities in March in anticipation of the season,” said Prince.
The catering industry is linked to segments and stakeholders like event management, auditoriums, wholesale food suppliers, besides vegetable, meat and fish suppliers. All the connected industries have also taken a hit.AKCA general secretary V Sunukumar said it was a hard time for workers in catering industry who had been left with no backup plan to meet their daily needs.
“In Kerala, around 95 per cent catering companies employ workers on daily wages. Most workers have been in the industry for the past several decades. With the catering industry hit, the workers and their families have also been affected. Most workers are not getting other jobs as other industries are also hit by Covid-19,” Sunukumar said.
Auditorium owners have also been hit with public events getting cancelled and the government directing to close down auditoriums till March 31. “There are around 2,000 auditoriums in the state. In March, an auditorium receives five events on an average. Most events have been cancelled and owners have been asked to refund the money,” said C V Moosa, state president, Auditorium Owners Association Kerala.
Refund the money
AKCA has directed all the caterers to return the advance money to the customers who had made bookings for an event and later cancelled it due to Covid-19. Caterers who have financial limitations can return the money in part. All caterers have also started placing hand wash and sanitisers in front of their offices for the public to use.
A grim situation
State has around 5,000 catering companies (700 in Kochi alone) and 2,000 auditoriums Caterers and players in allied industries fear that the losses, which will run into crores of rupees by March end, will increase if the situation remains the same during Easter and Vishu,