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10,000 lose jobs with restaurant and canteen closures

15 Sep 2022

  • Canteen Owners’ Association claims closure of 50% school canteens, 30% small, medium establishments 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Claiming that more than 50% of school canteens and 30% of small and medium scale restaurants and other food service establishments have closed down in the prevailing economic crisis, the All-Ceylon Canteen Owners’ Association (ACCOA) said that the same has resulted in more than 10,000 people losing their sources of income. Speaking to The Morning, ACCOA Chairman Asela Sampath said that more than 4,500 canteens are operated in Navodaya schools, central colleges, and national schools across the island. Noting that most of the food sold in them is based on ingredients like wheat flour and eggs, he said that due to the rapid increase in the price of wheat flour and eggs and their scarcity, more than 50% of the school canteens have closed down as of now. “We have been forcing the Governments for a long time to provide the necessary facilities to run school canteens in a formal manner, subject to some regulation, but to date, no such programme has been prepared. Due to the closure of canteens in this way, students have no place to get food. Therefore, the Ministry of Education should take steps to provide rice and other grains received from different countries as grants to the canteens, so that they won't have to be closed down,” he added. Sampath said that usually, the people who run the school canteens are required to provide the relevant rental fees to the school on a daily basis and added that some schools charge between Rs. 2,000-3,000. However, he said that the Ministry should consider revising the relevant fees, as the school canteens do not garner enough income to pay such an amount. Apart from school canteens, he said that more than 30% of small and medium scale restaurants and food service establishments have been shut down in the prevailing situation.  “Many restaurants located in urban and semi-urban areas operate on leased premises. Their workers need to be paid daily wages, but in this situation, they do not get an adequate income, especially due to the huge increase in the prices of wheat flour and eggs. Therefore, restaurant owners have to increase the prices of all the food. When the price is increased in that way, the customers do not buy the food,” he explained. In addition, Sampath said that many catering service establishments that provide services for funerals, weddings, and various parties have also been closed down. He said that the reason was the huge increase in the prices of food items and other raw materials. In addition, he said that the people who sold different types of food on the sides of highways have also become unable to run those businesses. In total, he noted that more than 10,000 people who depended on the above sectors have lost their sources of income. The prices of almost all food items and ingredients for food preparation including wheat flour and eggs have gone up drastically in the last few months. In this situation, a number of parties involved in the food and beverage industry, including the All-Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association, recently stated that a situation has arisen where it is impossible to run their businesses. Therefore, they have urged the authorities to provide them with some relief, considering the prevailing economic crisis, but the Government is yet to come up with such a relief programme.


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