Hong Kong must step up efforts to export its food culture and promote its culinary heritage, industry leaders have said after a recent study found that Cantonese restaurants have borne the brunt of the sector’s slump.

Data released this month by the Legislative Council Secretariat’s research office showed earnings for Chinese restaurants in the first quarter suffered the sector’s steepest contraction in revenue, plunging 27.9 per cent from HK$13.44 billion (US$1.7 billion) in 2018 to HK$9.7 billion in 2026.

The decline came against a 10.9 per cent rise in receipts for non-Chinese restaurants over the same period.

Catering sector lawmaker Jonathan Leung Chun on Tuesday said the city lagged behind international competitors such as South Korea, which had placed the global export of its food culture at the centre of its economic strategy, treating cuisine as an asset for international promotion.

“I am very certain that if our Guangdong-style restaurants do not innovate, the market will continue to shrink and it will be something both Hong Kong people and tourists come to regret,” Leung said.

He added that Shanghai and South Korea both had dedicated food streets to promote specific cuisines, while Hong Kong had yet to plan innovation.

Leung said authorities should launch targeted promotional initiatives for specific dining categories, including creating curated streets dedicated to traditional cafes known as bing sutt.