As high as 83% of a total of 541 small to medium size businesses in Cyprus have recorded a decreased turnover because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The nationwide decrease was specifically recorded between March 2020 and December 2021, according to a study carried out by small shopkeepers’ union Povek, the Bank of Cyprus and business analytics company Retail Zoom.
A huge decrease in turnover and liquidity was recorded by 58% of the SMEs while 25% said this was notable.
At the same time, 43% of the survey’s 541 SMEs decreased their staff number by 20%. These enterprises were mainly in the catering/entertainment sector.
The study surveyed SMEs spanning a number of sectors, including retail, wholesale trade, catering, entertainment and technical professions.
In addition, 70 per cent of participating businesses employ between two and nine staff members, 18 per cent have a single employee, while 12 per cent employ between 10 and 39 people.
