Restaurateurs do not understand where Rosstat counted their increased income from

Rosstat recorded a significant increase in the income of restaurants in the capital in July this year. The turnover of Moscow cafes this month was not only higher than in July last year, but also exceeded the indicators of the pre-pandemic July 2019, when there were no restrictions in the country.

According to Vadim Prasov, vice-president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia, these statistics hardly reflect the real state of affairs in the industry.

"It is not clear how Rosstat calculated. It is still possible to believe that the revenue of the restaurant business in 2021 increased compared to 2020, but it could not grow in comparison with 2019", - he said in an interview radio Sputnik.

Prasov suggested that perhaps Rosstat also took into account the turnover of delivery services. But even with this in mind, he said, it is necessary to take into account the increased food prices, the rise in wages and the maintenance of prices at practically the same level as they were before the pandemic. " Well, the flow of people who came to restaurants during this period was definitely not fantastically large", - he added.

President of the Union of Restaurant Managers of Russia, Ombudsman of the Moscow restaurant market Sergei Mironov noted that after any fall, growth comes, and if there is no new wave of coronavirus and new restrictions, the industry will begin to recover.