82% of closed food outlets registered under five years never made a profit

More than four-fifths of newer retail food establishments that ceased operations in 2025 had never declared a profit, according to data tabled in Parliament on 5 November.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong shared the figures in two written replies to Member of Parliament Foo Cexiang (Tanjong Pagar GRC), addressing questions on business turnover and profitability in the food and beverage (F&B) sector.

Between 1 January and 23 October 2025, 2,431 retail food establishments closed, while 3,357 new establishments were registered in the same period.

Among those that closed, 63 per cent had been registered for five years or less. Of these, 82 per cent had never recorded a profit in any of their annual tax declarations, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

The data, sourced from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), was based on the duration of business registration. ACRA noted that this does not necessarily reflect the actual period of operations, as operational timelines may differ from registration records.

Table 1, provided in the parliamentary reply, outlines the distribution of closures by duration of registration:

• Less than 3 years: 882 closures (36.3%)

• 3 to less than 5 years: 650 closures (26.7%)

• 5 to less than 10 years: 419 closures (17.2%)

• 10 to less than 20 years: 336 closures (13.8%)

• 20 or more years: 144 closures (5.9%)

Retail food establishments covered in this data include a wide range of outlets such as restaurants, cafes, fast-food chains, hawker stalls, food courts, pubs, kiosks focused on takeaway and delivery, and food caterers.

DPM Gan did not elaborate on specific factors contributing to the lack of profitability. However, the data highlights the financial vulnerability of newer entrants to the F&B market, where intense competition and high operating costs are frequently cited industry challenges.

The written replies also revealed that MP Foo had asked for the duration of actual operation, broken down into specific bands: less than three years; three to five years; five to 10 years; 10 to 20 years; and more than 20 years.

However, this portion of the query was not addressed directly. The response stated that ACRA does not hold data on actual periods of operation—only on the time between registration and cessation of the business.