While there is still two weeks until the festival for new registrants to come on board, government figures show only 340 stallholders have registered to date, down from 388 in 2017 and 413 in 2016.

The popular festival, which last year attracted about 280,000 people into Civic over three days, has been beset by controversy amid changes to alcohol permit policies and concerns some stallholders may not be able to sell cultural items and arts and crafts.

Of the 20 stalls so far to get alcohol permits, six have gone to clubs, including the Hellenic Club, Harmonie German Club, Slovenian-Australian Club, Croatian Club, Serbian White Eagle Football Club and the Freemasons.

That compared with 65 permits being issued for stallholders to provide alcohol in 2017 and 66 such permits at the 2016 festival - a two-thirds reduction.

That fall in issued alcohol permits was due to a policy change the government has said aims to reduce alcohol-related problems and enhance the cultural aspects of the festival.

Despite speculation Clubs ACT may have been involved in the policy change, the government has maintained it was due to a call from ACT Policing, despite ABC Canberra previously reporting only three arrests recorded at the festival last year.

But Clubs ACT chief Gwyn Rees said that industry group had had no involvement at all with the government about liquor permits, despite some smaller clubs deciding to pull out this year.

"A small number of the ethnic clubs will be absent from the event with some suggesting the cost to organise, get volunteers or staff, and setup does not necessarily translate to a reasonable return," he said.

"Some have cited issues with the festival in terms of its size or where they have ended up being located in city."

A spokesman for the community services directorate, which runs the festival, similarly said the government was not aware of any contact from the clubs industry regarding the number of liquor permits for this year's festival.

But he said festival organisers were aware that some stallholders had pulled out of the festival due to "organisational financial pressures" and "dissatisfaction with stall size and location" from previous years.

"Festival organisers are aware that some organisations may not have applied for a stall due to policy changes, including the changes to alcohol permits," he said.

But others seem to have been affected by a further policy change, with the Tongan High Commission holding an urgent meeting on Monday night with a host of other Pacific Islander embassies and others.

Tongan High Commission first secretary Leonaitasi Kuluni said the commission had been told a change in policy meant they were no longer able to sell traditional arts and crafts at their stall.

He said the high commission was concerned by both the apparent policy change, as well as a lack of consultation about it with stallholders.

Mr Kuluni also said other embassies had expressed similar sentiments and the high commission was now expecting a meeting with the multicultural affairs minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith, in coming days.

No response was received to questions about the nature of policy changes affecting the high commission on Tuesday.

The list of registered alcohol permit holders, as at Monday January 29, included:

Clarification: This article previously incorrectly stated the Polish White Eagle Club would be involved in this year's festival. It should have read the Serbian White Eagles Football Club.