McDonald's shortage of large-sized fries in Japan is at an end. Back on their menu are the big fries, after McDonald's Japan officially announced Friday that it will resume serving all portion sizes of fries starting Jan. 5 after. The McDonald's shortage of fries in Japan forced the chain to ration the tasty snack at more than 3,000 chains across the country.
The shortage ended almost three weeks after the fast-food giant restricted customers to small portions of fries, leaving Japanese restaurants rushing for fresh supplies, the AFP reports.
The McDonald's shortage of large fries reportedly occurred due to labor disputes on the U.S. West Coast. Apparently, U.S. dockworkers went on a go-slow, failing to provide full crews for months as they bid to gain bargaining leverage in labour negotiations with employers. This resulted in the McDonald's shortage of large fries as exports to Japan were hampered.
To finally end the McDonald's shortage of large fries, McDonald's Japan resorted to an emergency airlift of French fries to the country.
According to The Guardian, the Japanese arm of McDonald's said it simply airlifted more fries to solve the problem of the McDonald's shortage of the fries.
"We will continue to monitor the situation carefully to do our best to ensure stable supply of potato products," the company said in a statement.
The company added that earlier this month, they had airlifted more than 1,000 tonnes of potatoes and shipped 1,600 tonnes by sea from the US east coast. However, this was not enough to ensure a stable supply for its customers.
According to the company's notice on its website, the McDonald's shortage of fries had ended and that their fry inventory had improved because of the air shipments and extra sea shipments from the U.S. East Coast. It also apologized in the statement and said it would try to avoid further shortages at its 3,100 restaurants in Japan.
Locally grown potatoes in Japan are mostly eaten fresh, rather than made into McDonald's fries. Apparently, production has been declining for years, reports NBC News. Most of the more than 300,000 tons of consumed French fries in Japan per year come from imports of frozen, processed potatoes.
The McDonald's shortage of fries, if it happens again, would definitely impact both the U.S. and Japan's economies as frozen french fries are reportedly a leading U.S. export.
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