Supply Crisis, McDonald's Japan Stops Selling Medium And Large Size French Fries

JAKARTA - McDonald's Co., (Japan) will only offer French fries in small sizes, as potato imports from North America have been delayed due to flooding near the port of Vancouver, Canada and logistical disruptions worldwide caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sales of medium and large fries will be suspended from this Friday through December 30 as supply of potatoes falls, McDonald's said in a statement Tuesday, citing Kyodo News December 22.

However, the fast-food giant will continue to sell small-size offerings, while trying to ensure customers can enjoy popular items despite shortages.

"McDonald's Japan will temporarily limit the sale of Medium and Large size French Fries as a proactive measure to ensure customers can continue to enjoy McDonald's French Fries. Customers can still order small size fries in all of our restaurants. To date, there have been no supply cuts." the company explained to the BBC.

Additionally, McDonald's said it was speeding up its procurement of potatoes and plans to put medium and large fries back on the menu at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 31.

The suspension of sales will take place at about 2,900 stores across the country. Supply issues will not affect hash brown offerings, the company said.

To note, this is not the first time McDonald's in Japan has been forced to reduce its portions. In 2014, a protracted industrial dispute between 20,000 dock workers, terminal operators and shipping lines at 29 ports on the US west coast led to a shortage of French fries.

In response, McDonald's Japan took the emergency step of selling only a small portion of the fries while flying 1,000 tonnes of potatoes.

Separately in August this year, McDonald's said it was facing supply issues affecting the availability of shakes and packaged drinks at its 1,250 outlets across the UK.

The company said a nationwide shortage of truck drivers was one reason behind the disruption: "A number of issues are affecting retailers in the UK at the moment, one of which is the national shortage of HGV drivers."

The company added that the "historic" driver shortage had been exacerbated by rule changes following Britain's exit from the European Union.