There is going to be a significant shortage of larger McDonald’s French fries in Japan from December 24 to 30 due to potato shortage. McDonald’s Holdings Company Japan said the company has not been able to source potatoes due to international delivery bottlenecks, and that Medium- and Large-sized French fries will be unavailable for one week.
Only small-sized fries will be available to consumers.
“McDonald’s Japan will temporarily limit sales of Medium- and Large-sized French Fries as a proactive measure to ensure customers can continue to enjoy McDonald’s French Fries,” the company wrote. “Customers will still be able to order Small-sized French Fries at all of our restaurants. To date, there have been no breaks in supply.”
McDonald’s said it is not currently able to import potatoes from Vancouver in Canada due to the effects of flood damage and the COVID-19 pandemic. The company will therefore be flying potato supplies to Japan and sourcing for the tubers locally until the global supply chain is restored. Although the company did not reveal the financial impact of this shortage on its balance sheet, this is not the first time such an incident is happening.
McDonald’s Japan suffered disruption to French fries production in 2014 when a prolonged industrial dispute arose between dockworkers, terminal operators, and shipping lines in the United States. The company took medium and large fries off its orders and settled for small fries while flying more than 1,000 tons of potatoes into the country.
Earlier this year in the UK, McDonald’s was not able to meet demands for shakes and bottled drinks across its 1,250 branches across the country, and it blamed supply issues for the problems. Some problems related to the countrywide shortage of truck drivers after the UK pulled out of the EU, and this affected many other businesses nationwide.