As the COVID-19 pandemic in China comes under control, steady recovery is being seen in the catering economy, especially the food delivery sector, since enterprises are gradually resuming work. Industry insiders expect stronger momentum of recovery in the food and beverage industry across the country.

A recent report by e-commerce service platform Meituan shows that food delivery orders have climbed steadily since the second half of February. Some 30 percent of restaurants reported more orders than before the COVID-19 outbreak. More than 55 percent of restaurants and other catering services across China have resumed operations.

The report also illustrated that first-tier cities saw the most rapid growth in orders, with Shenzhen and Guangzhou leading the way. Newly registered consumers on food delivery platforms grew 50 percent weekly in the last two weeks of February. The post 60s and 70s generations have become a main force behind the increase.

The food and beverage industry has been struggling with supply during recent months, and many enterprises had to consider adjusting their business model. For example in order to increase sales, many restaurants are eager to add more semi-prepared food packages for delivery.

Experts say it's impressive to see serious support measures by the Chinese government to stimulate the economy, especially when the pandemic has made people more cautious in terms of getting together and eating out.

Kate Kui, president of Netease Agriculture Business, introduced that starting from February, platforms such as Meituan not only established a fund of 200 million yuan to support Wuhan, but also worked with multiple commercial banks in China to secure 20 billion yuan loan interest funding to help restaurants and more businesses to go through cash flow crisis.

"In the meantime, China is well positioned in terms of controlling domestic virus spread, so the recovery of food and beverage industry in China should be well expected and could be relatively faster," she added.

Meituan announced its financial results for 2019 on Monday. Kui noticed some highlights, "Meituan is one of the largest online e-commerce players in China, and its business indicates the health and recovery speed of Chinese economy and service industry before and after the coronavirus pandemic."

The financial report shows that the company saw an increase of more than 42 percent in revenue to 28 billion yuan in the fourth quarter ended December. Profit was 1.46 billion yuan in Q4 as gross transaction volume in its core food delivery division rose 40 percent.

"As food delivery services now have a dominant market share in China where these number indicate that, under the normal course, the food delivery businesses are well on track. And the recent outbreak has made delivery even more crucial, as it helped ensure the normal daily supply of households in China," Kui further elaborated.