Arab News Japan

TOKYO: McDonald’s Holdings Company Japan said on Tuesday it would suspend the sale of medium- and large-sized french fries for a week starting on Friday due to supply chain bottlenecks.

The company is seeing delays in potato shipments due to supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as from shipping disruptions in Canada. The potatoes used for the french fries are imported from North America, it said.

According to the BBC, As a result it will only sell small portions of its French fries in Japan from Friday until 30 December.

McDonald’s said it usually imports the potatoes it uses from a port near Vancouver in Canada. This is not the first time the fast food chain has been forced to cut down on its french fries sales. 

In 2014, a protracted industrial dispute between 20,000 dockworkers, terminal operators and shipping lines at 29 ports on the west coast of the US caused a shortage of French fries, the BBC reported.

The company did not quantify the financial impact of the temporary suspension.

*With Reuters