Counting the cost on campus, coffee by coffee

Liz Main and Bo Seo

Feb 28, 2020

AFR

Sharule Ariff is a coffee machine maestro.

His hands fly across the grinder and the milk steamer seemingly of their own accord, while he cheerily greets customers: “Monsieur! Espresso for you?”

But Mr Ariff’s theatrics at The Vine Coffee Roasters cafe in the foyer of Melbourne’s RMIT university were missing a vital ingredient this week: an audience.

Cafe worker Sharule Ariff says customer numbers are down 60 per cent due to the coronavirus travel ban on Chinese students. Eamon Gallagher

The coronavirus travel ban on non-residents and citizens from China has dramatically cut the number of foreign students who would normally be flooding onto campuses around the country.

Mr Ariff estimates the number of customers coming into the cafe is down about 60 per cent for this time of year, normally one his busiest periods as new students attend orientation week.

“[It used to be] queues out the door, man, queues out the door, y’all. People from far and wide,” Mr Ariff says.

Education is one of the economic sector’s hardest-hit by the health crisis, with officials warning that the income lost from Chinese students unable to get to Australia could top $1 billion.

Foreign students are big business, but small operators are also feeling the pinch.

Mr Ariff says the travel ban has sucked $2,000 per week in revenue from his cafe.

Even so, he says the ban should not be lifted until it’s safe to do so.

“It’s cool. For safety and shit like that.”

A few doors down from the cafe, Zaid Hatem stands at the counter of his EzyMart convenience store. It’s empty.

Most of the shop’s customers are Chinese students who live in Scape student accommodation around the corner, he says.

But the iced teas and milk teas that usually fly off the shelves aren’t selling because the students are nowhere to be seen.

Zaid Hatem works at EzyMart, which heavily relies on Chinese students for sales. Eamon Gallagher

“There’s definitely been a drop off,” he says.

Like his neighbour, Mr Hatem says he doesn’t want the government to rush to lift the ban.

“The way I see it now, health is always more important than everything else.”

Students enrolled at the University of Melbourne have been offered grants of up to $7,500 to help cover costs related to the virus, such as non-refundable plane tickets, accommodation and upgrading technology so they can participate in online lectures.

There were similar stories in university towns across Australia, with some small businesses bracing for a further downturn.

An Asian butcher in Newcastle reported that sales were already down 30 per cent, while Kim Wang Supermarket near the University of South Australia estimated that Chinese international students accounted for one-fifth of their customers.

Melissa Jiang, an employee of the Adelaide store and herself an international student from China, said the shop mostly catered to locals but that particular items such as Chinese snacks and Korean instant noodles were student favourites.

“I’m mostly worried for my parents [in Henan province],” Ms Jiang said.

Businesses are being disrupted around the world as countries try to contain the coronavirus.

At The Bread Hound, sausage rolls and $1 doughnuts are the draw for students on the nearby St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland.

Emma Kelly, one of five employees at the bakery, said university had just resumed and the business was watching the tills daily to monitor any fallout from the virus.

“There’s a lot of talk at the moment. We’ll see how it turns out … For a small shop, any decrease in business matters,” she said, noting that, for now, only one or two customers came into the store wearing a mask in a week.

Ms Kelly had a message for the Chinese students affected by the travel ban: “I hope everyone’s being cautious. Don’t be too scared”.