30% hotels, canteens, restaurants, food carts, 50% of school canteens closed: AICOA

All Island Canteen Owners' Association (AICOA) Chief Asela Sampath today said that 30 percent of the hotels, canteens, and 50 percent of school canteens have closed due to the price increase of essential commodities and the price increase of chicken and eggs in the local market.

He told the Daily Mirror that about 10,000 of the 30,000 hotels across the country are completely closed due to a shortage of bread, flour, eggs, meat, and fish.

He said around 3,000 canteens in government institutions and 4,600 canteens in schools were operating across the country.

The food and beverage supply services (catering) for events (wedding houses, funeral homes) have completely stopped due to the shortage of bread flour, eggs, meat, and fish.

More than 60,000 people who used to produce food items such as cakes, puddings and watalappan with bread flour and eggs at home have also stopped due to the lack of raw materials. Street food sales have also come to an end.

Most of the restaurants, stalls, canteens, hotels, and street food carts were closed as they were unable to pay their rent and the salaries of their employees. Even though the food was made, we could not sell them at a higher price, the association's chairman added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)