ADVERTISEMENT

China Catering Industry One of Bigger Drags on Virus-Hit Economy

China Catering Industry One of Bigger Drags on Virus-Hit Economy

(Bloomberg) -- China’s catering industry was one of the biggest drags on output in the first quarter, leading the world’s second-largest economy into its first contraction in decades as the coronavirus brought business to a near standstill.

The accommodation and catering industry fell 35.3% from a year earlier, reversing a 6.2% increase in the previous quarter, the statistics bureau said Saturday in a supplemental report on gross domestic product.

The wholesale and retail sector suffered a 17.8% decline in the quarter, while the construction industry shrank 17.5%, compared with a 5.3% increase in the last three months of 2019.

Output in industrial enterprises fell 8.5%, after increasing 5.9% in the previous quarter, and manufacturing dropped 10.2%.

The services sector overall, which contributed 59% of GDP value in the first three months, contracted by 5.2% in the quarter.

China’s economy declined 6.8% from a year earlier in the first quarter, its worst performance since at least 1992.

Finance and information technology were the only sectors to post growth, gaining 6% and 13.2% respectively.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg