RESTAURANT operators have no plans to raise the price of food and drinks for the time being despite the rising prices of goods and services.
They said they wanted to maintain goodwill with their patrons and will hold out as long as possible.
They said raising prices will burden those in the B40 group who may stop eating at their outlets.
The Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said that despite a hike in the prices of goods and services, they are still maintaining their prices.
“As for now, we are not going to raise the price of food and drinks as we will try our level best to manage. We are still maintaining our selling prices,” he told The Vibes.
He added that business has increased because they have enough workers to operate the restaurants.
“Previously, we didn’t have enough manpower to run the show, but now we manage the restaurants, cleaners and staff to take care of the food.
“So, over the months, business has increased by 10% to 15%.”
He said that to date, they have yet to raise the price of their food and drinks, but prices differ from area to area.
“For example, roti canai can cost between RM1.30 to RM1.90 and teh tarik will cost between RM2 to RM2.50 depending on the area. Rice dishes with one meat and vegetable will cost between RM9 to RM9.50.
“Like in Desa Sri Hartamas, Bukit Bintang area, it will be slightly higher. We must also consider our rental, staff and overheads.”
Jawahar said that they have 4,000 members operating more than 10,000 outlets nationwide.
Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association president (Primas) J. Suresh said that this year, they have yet to raise the price of food and drinks.
“We are trying not to increase our prices because the public don’t have cash flow.
“The last price increase was in December last year. Not all our restaurants, only some of them. We want to maintain the goodwill of our customers.
“For example, some outlets in rural areas can’t increase the prices because then their customers who are from the B40 group won’t be able to afford to eat.
“They know that if they sell at higher prices, the customers won’t spend, so they have no choice but to close the restaurants because they can’t sustain their business.”
He said they have not increased the prices but for rice dishes, they have raised it between 15 sen to 20 sen last year.
“We still maintain the price for teh tarik (RM 2 - RM2.20) and roti canai (RM1.50 - RM 1.80) but it differs depending on the areas. For example, like in Bangsar, the rent and overheads are high, so the prices are higher.”
He said to date, the restaurants are not doing well as they have seen drop of 15% to 20% in their business.
He, however, said that during festive seasons and holidays, business had picked up a bit, but only for a while.
“In other areas, business is bad, while in the Klang Valley, the operators are maintaining their business.
“Basically, the reason is customers don’t have money. This could also be because of the economic factor.”
He said that even though the government did not raise the sales and service tax for food and beverage, the other products and services affected by the 8% increase have affected them.
“Even though we maintain at 6%, the others are affected by the 8% increase. So, now the prices for raw goods have slightly gone up.
“We hope the government can assist the operators so that we can maintain the food industry and not raise our prices,” he said, adding that they have 1,500 members operating about 4,000 restaurants. – June 10, 2024.
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