Restaurant orders to suppliers are down by over 30% due to the delayed reopening of indoor dining, according to Unify Ordering, an app that connects buyers and suppliers in the food and drinks industry.

As a result, it said many suppliers are sitting on stockpiles of goods.

When outdoor dining resumed on June 7, the company reported a 40% increase in the volume of restaurant orders through their platform.

Barry McNerney, CEO of Unify Ordering, said they were hoping to see a similar jump this month, but that has not happened due to the uncertainty regarding the resumption of indoor dining.

"Comparing the month of June to the first week of July, overall order numbers are down by 15%, with items per order down by 35%," he said.

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Mr McNerney called for indoor dining to resume as quickly as possible, in order to provide certainty for both restaurant owners and suppliers.

"The vast majority of orders from restaurants on Unify are for the next day or for the day after so we haven't seen a huge amount of cancelled orders due to delayed reopening.

"However, talking to suppliers, who have to pre-order goods ahead of any market demand - they are sitting on stockpiles of goods," he said.

Mr McNerney said that suppliers need longer lead in time for orders than restaurants.

"The Government gave sufficient notice to prevent restaurants from having to carry un-needed stock but the same cannot be said for suppliers, especially drink suppliers who have a longer lead-in time for orders," he said.

With restaurants relying on outdoor dining, Mr McNerney said the weather also impacts the level of orders placed.

"The weather throughout June was very nice, but then at the start of July we had some bad days - and we saw order volumes decrease," he said.

He said the industry is "completely reliant" on the weather at the moment, which isn't sustainable.