Potato Shortage Leads To Global Shortage Of French Fries, Potato Chips
Fast food restaurants across the world are experiencing a shortage of french fries.
The United States is one of the top producers of potatoes globally — but lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced U.S. farmers to destroy hundreds of tons of potatoes in 2020, and the supply has not fully recovered. On top of that, supply chain issues have hampered the exports of this year’s crop. These issues have led to fast food chains from Kenya to Japan scaling back on french fry orders or even running out of them.
Japan is the largest overseas market for U.S. potatoes, accounting for $342 million in exports, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Frozen potato products like french fries account for nearly two-thirds of those exports, more than $230 million in exports. Moreover, the United States is the “sole foreign supplier of fresh chipping potatoes in Japan.”
Japan is also home to more than 3,000 McDonald’s franchises, according to The Washington Post, and relies heavily on U.S. potato exports. The Post reported that Japan was considering flying in potatoes to ease supply bottlenecks, but snowstorms battered the West Coast of North America and further delayed shipments. McDonald’s was forced to restrict french fry orders in Japan to just the small size for the foreseeable future. – READ MORE
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