New Delhi, March 10 Shares of food delivery companies and restaurants ended lower on Tuesday amid a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders, which triggered fears of operations being shut if the situation is not resolved.
The stock of food delivery company Swiggy fell by 2.26 per cent, while Eternal lost 1.50 per cent on the BSE.
Jubilant FoodWorks, which operates fast-food chains Domino's Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts, declined 1.45 per cent.
Also, United Foodbrands slipped 1.42 per cent, Sapphire Foods India edged lower by 0.94 per cent, and Restaurant Brands Asia dipped 0.73 per cent.
Hard hit by the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders, the hotel industry body, FHRAI, on Tuesday said a large number of hotels and eateries in Mumbai will have to shut operations in the next two days if the situation is not resolved.
Similar disruptions are also reported from Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, Pradeep Shetty, Vice President, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) said.
Amid the West Asia crisis, the government has revised the priority order for allocating domestically produced natural gas, placing LPG production alongside CNG and piped cooking gas at the top. This has led to a supply crunch for hotels and restaurants, which use market-priced commercial LPG.
The shortage of commercial LPG has become extremely serious over the past week, with intermittent disruptions escalating into a near-complete halt in supply in several regions since Monday, said Shetty, who is also the Spokesperson, Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) - HRAWI.
"We are already receiving reports of severe shortages from cities including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur, while similar disruptions are being reported in states such as Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
“If the situation does not improve within the next two days, nearly 50 per cent of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai may be forced to temporarily shut operations depending on the stock of cylinders they currently have," he cautioned.