McDonald’s to ration french fries in Japan, cites supply chain issues

Fast-food giant McDonalds said that its outlets in Japan will be rationing their french fries due to a shortage in potato supply due to the supply chain crisis. The rationing order will be in place till at least December 30.

However, this does not mean customers would not be able to order the iconic dish at all but will be restricted to the small portion only.

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The company said in a statement to BBC, “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 statement added, “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.”

According to a statement released by the company, the supply shortage has been caused by “flood damage and the impact of the Corona disaster on the global distribution network.”

Approximately 2,900 stores of the fast-food chain are expected to be impacted by the new rationing rules, the statement indicated.

McDonald’s stores in Japan usually import the raw materials from North America from a port in Canada’s Vancouver, a transit point for multiple trade routes. However, due to the shortage in supply, company management has decided it will fly supplies to Japan.

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This is not the first time the fast-food chain has faced disruptions in operations that impacted its portion sizes. According to reports from BBC, the restaurant faced issues in maintaining supplies, impacting the sale of beverages in nearly 1,250 outlets located in the United Kingdom.

One fear now is that the omicron variant of COVID will further disrupt manufacturing and shipping, worsen the supply chain backlogs and keep inflation simmering. It could also increase consumers’ already intensified demand for goods, which would magnify the supply shortages.