Burgers undeniably are best coupled with fries, but those visiting McDonald’s in Japan, might walk away disappointed. The global fast food chain is being forced to take medium as well as large sized fries off the menu, across 2,900 locations in Japan. McDonald’s has stated a potato shortage as the reason behind this change in menu. 

Certain set items on the McDonald’s menu come with a side of medium sized fries, and customers have the option to increase or decrease the quantity, as per their wish. Of course, they will be limited in their choice now, and can only opt for the small size, which is about half of what the medium offering includes. 

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McDonald’s Holdings Co. has blamed flooding at the port of Vancouver and the current situation with rising coronavirus cases for this predicament. Since fries are an integral part of their menu, and in popular demand, McDonald’s is trying to arrange for alternate flights. They are also attempting to reach a conducive solution through coordination and cooperation with importers as well as suppliers. 

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However, until the situation normalizes, they have put this menu change in place, to remain effective until December 30. It is to ensure that as many customers as possible have access to French fries. The company fully expects the supply shortage to ease up by year end, and for this brief period, they are offering customers a 44 cent discount on the fries, to reflect the reduced quantity. Despite the dearth of potatoes, McDonald’s does not seem to be impacted when it comes to the availability of hash browns. 

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As a fast food giant that has been around for ages, this is not the first serious potato shortage that McDonald’s has dealt with either. In 2019, there was a bad potato crop, leading to a frenzied attempt to supply potatoes all over North America, so French fries could stay on the menu.