China's catering industry developed continuously at a rapid speed in the first half of this year. The managing level of catering industry has improved steadily, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The annual retail sales of catering industry is expected to hit 880 billion Yuan, increasing by about 17 percent compared to that of last year.

According to the statistics, China's catering industry has realized the retail sales of 401.62 billion Yuan in the first half of this year, increasing by 17.9percent compared to the same period of last year. This accounts for 13.6percent of the total retail sales of social consumption, increasing by 0.2percent over the same period last year.

Catering industry has contributed 2.33 percent to the growth of the total retail sales. 17.7 percent of the country's total retail sales comes from the catering sector. The growth rate of catering industry is 6.6percent slower compared to the same period last year. The catering market has entered the period featuring normal and rapid development

According to the forecast of the Ministry of Commerce, the catering market will continue to enjoy the high demands in the next half of this year. The retail sales of this industry will be nearly 480 billion Yuan.

By People's Daily Online