Restaurant sector representatives demand gov’t action amid soaring commodity prices

AMMAN — The rapid increase of up to 320 per cent in food prices is pressuring the local restaurant sector, according to the Jordan Association for Restaurants and Sweets Shops Owners.

Speaking with The Jordan Times over the phone on Sunday, Omar Awwad, president of the Jordan Association for Restaurants and Sweets Shops Owners, said that “the association on Saturday convened an urgent meeting to discuss the current status of the sector”. 

Awwad said that Jordan’s restaurant sector, which employs around 350,000 individuals, is “headed for collapse” due to the soaring food and operational costs.

Chicken price increases have also negatively impacted restaurant owners and sector operators, he added, noting that the association has called to be able to slightly increase the prices on certain menu items, calling for a price increase between 5 and 10 per cent. 

The association raised its demands to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply again, said Awwad, noting that the demands have been identified following an extensive study with figures for the past seven years.

He pointed to the need to “seriously” address the challenges faced by the sector, through exempting all budget-friendly restaurants from paying sales tax, and directing government’s efforts in a way that positively affects the sector.

Previously, Trade Ministry’s Spokesperson Yanal Barmawi told The Jordan Times that the ministry had intensified its monitoring of markets, thereby not allowing any market manipulation. 

Anas Rateb, owner of a restaurant based in Amman, told The Jordan Times on Sunday that “the current difficulties may force us to close our restaurants. Although it is summer, but we are barely making ends meet”. 

He added that he is trying to operate amid inflationary price increases, but this time government intervention is necessary.

Meanwhile, Odai Awad, a young employee working at a local restaurant, said that “restaurants were mostly affected after chicken prices soared”, adding that “many restaurant owners are about to lose their businesses, because they are unable to keep up”.