TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
McDonald’s french fries shortage spreads to Indonesia
The fast-food giant's fries shortage had previously hit branches in Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
M
cDonald’s Indonesia said on Tuesday that it would begin suspending the sale of large-sized fries starting Wednesday as a potato shortage looms.
The announcement marks the spread of the fast-food giant's fries crisis to Indonesia after branches in Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan made similar moves, due to the global supply chain havoc.
“Due to the limited availability of french fries at this time, large-sized french fries [servings are] temporarily unavailable starting February 2,” said McDonald’s Indonesia in a statement.
Global shipping operations continue to be severely affected by a mix of factors, including COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, extreme weather and rapid recovery in demand.
Logistics consulting firm Supply Chain Indonesia (SCI) chairman Setijadi said particular commodities can only be produced in certain areas and cannot be produced in other countries. Potato varieties used by the fast-food giant include Pentland Dell and Russet Burbank, both of which can only be cultivated in the United Kingdom and the Northern American continent.
“We are not expecting a shortage in industrial potatoes imports, in general, to happen in Indonesia,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Read also: When the chips are down: McDonald's rations fries in Japan
McDonald’s branches worldwide faced similar supply chain issues, beginning with McDonald’s Holdings Company Japan, which has stopped selling medium- and large-sized fries for about a month, starting Jan. 9.
The company is seeing delays in potato shipments from the North American continent due to the pandemic and flood damage on the port of Vancouver, Canada, management said in a statement.
This marks the second time McDonald’s Japan has restricted sales of fried potatoes after a weeklong suspension in late December.
McDonald’s in Taiwan and Malaysia have also suspended the sale of large-sized fries from Jan. 7 and Jan. 24, respectively, caused by an “unstable global shipping supply.”
Read also: McDonald's runs out of hash browns in Taiwan stores
Japan is the United States’ potato industry’s largest export market with exports totaling over US$342 million in 2020, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data show.
The US is among the world’s top 10 potato producers, along with China, Russia and India as the top three.
