McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast food chain, is experiencing a chip shortage in Japan as a result of the worldwide supply chain issue.
The problem at the birthplace of the Big Mac, however, is not a shortage of chips.
The company has stated that supplies of the potatoes required to manufacture its famed French fries are encountering difficulties.
As a result, starting Friday through December 30, it will only offer tiny amounts of its French fries in Japan.
“As a preventative move to guarantee customers can continue to enjoy McDonald’s French Fries, McDonald’s Japan will temporarily limit sales of Medium- and Large-sized French Fries.
“All of our locations will continue to provide Small-sized French Fries to customers. “There have been no supply interruptions to yet,” the business informed reporters.
McDonald’s claimed the potatoes it uses are generally imported from a port near Vancouver, Canada.
Ships, on the other hand, have been delayed owing to flood damage and the pandemic’s influence on the worldwide supply chain.
The business stated in a statement that it will now turn to other means, including flying goods to Japan.
This isn’t the first time McDonald’s has been compelled to reduce the size of its meals in Japan.
A long-running labor dispute involving 20,000 dockworkers, terminal operators, and shipping lines at 29 ports on the west coast of the United States resulted in a scarcity of French fries in 2014.
McDonald’s Japan responded by selling only modest amounts of French fries while flying in 1,000 tonnes of potatoes as an emergency measure.
Separately, McDonald’s reported in August that supply concerns were hurting the availability of shakes and bottled beverages at its 1,250 UK locations.
One of the reasons for the delays, according to the firm, is a statewide scarcity of lorry drivers: “Right now, a lot of concerns are affecting merchants in the UK, one of which is a statewide lack of HGV drivers.”
Changes in restrictions following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union worsened a “historic” lack of drivers, according to the firm.
