Global potato shortage means less fries and chips to share. You may be unable to satisfy your cravings lately as all potato products are unavailable or limited at your favorite fast-food chains. From hashed browns, mashed potatoes, to potato wedges, your local stores are struggling to keep up with the demand. “No more fries” —a three-word horror story indeed!
Because of the disruption of global supply chains, other countries have been experiencing similar difficulties in getting their potato supply.
As reported, Southeast Asian countries have been affected by the spud shortage as early as December. In Japan, McDonald’s rationed their potatoes and made a similar move of offering only regular-sized fries.
Later on, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and recently South Korea, announced the same concern. McDonald’s Malaysia shared the sad news to their loyal customers calling it a “large sacri-fries.”
Just this Thursday, Mcdonald’s Philippines joined the struggle after the announcement that they will not be serving their medium to BFF-sized fries anytime soon.
But McDonald’s is not alone in this situation. KFC in Kenya has offered their other products as replacements for their fries (or chips) on their combo meals. KFC mashed potatoes are also unavailable in different Philippine locations in the meantime.
Fam it was truly a Furaha December. 🥳 Mlikula sherehe with your KFC faves. Ya'll loved our chips a little too much, and we've run out. Sorry! Our team is working hard to resolve the issue. In the meantime here are some SWAP options for combo meals if you are craving our Kuku. pic.twitter.com/ylvnqxtPD0
— KFC Kenya (@KFCinKenya) January 3, 2022
Lotteria, a popular fast-food chain in South Korea, also asks for consumers’ understanding as they replace their french fries with chicken nuggets or cheese sticks.
After rice, potatoes are surely the next in line as one of the staple foods in the country. As a fast-food and french-fry loving nation, this is a fry-tening experience for all of us.
So, what is happening?
The majority of Asian restaurants rely on North American potato imports which are shipped from the Vancouver port. Both McDonald’s and KFC cited logistical problems caused by the floods in Canada, which recently faced its “worst weather storm of the century,” as their officials said.
Aside from the delayed shipments brought by the pandemic, The Washington Post explained that potato shortages happen from time to time because of “bad weather, blights or labor disputes.”
While experts say the situation may slightly improve in the next few months, this may be the time to prioritize strengthening our local agricultural community so large corporations can rely on them as suppliers.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/McDo.ph/, https://twitter.com/KFCinKenya, https://www.instagram.com/mcdonaldsmalaysia/, https://twitter.com/McDonalds_ID
