McDonald’s French Fries Shortage In Japan Extends To End Of January

KEY POINTS

McDonald's Japan will limit the sales of its french fries to small-size orders for "about a month."
The delayed arrival of raw materials scheduled for mid-January led to the shortage
The initial rationing in December was the first time the company limited the sales of its french fries in seven years

Japanese McDonald's stores that suspended the sales of their medium and large french fries orders in the final week of 2021 will extend the rationing for another month, the company announced Sunday.

McDonald's Japan's french fries, called locally as "Mac Fry Potato," will only be sold in "S" size again for "about a month" starting Sunday "to secure sufficient inventory" and to compensate for further import delays, the fast-food chain said in a statement.

The company's 2,900 stores nationwide initially suspended the sales of "M"- and "L"-size french fries between Dec. 24 and the end of the year due to delays in the arrival of raw materials from North America, including potatoes from Canada.

The delay was caused by large-scale flooding in the country as well as a "disruption to the global logistics network,” the latter of which was attributed to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald's Japan said.

The December rationing was the first time the company limited the sales of its french fries in seven years.

The sales of the restaurant chain's "M"- and "L"-size fries resumed Dec. 31.

Three Boeing 747 cargo planes loaded with relief potatoes were contracted to help deal with the french fry shortage, Ryan Petersen, CEO of American logistics company Flexport, claimed in a Dec. 28 tweet.

It was unclear what happened to the planes and their cargo after the announcement. Petersen's tweet has also been deleted.

McDonald's Japan was forced to ration its french fries again after “unexpected conditions," such as bad weather, among other things, further delayed the arrival of materials scheduled to reach the country in mid-January, the company said.

The sale of large and extra-large fries and chicken nuggets combo meal, also known as "PoteNage," has also been suspended.

The meal is part of the company's "Night Mac" menu, which is only available to customers after 5 p.m.

"We sincerely apologize for the repeated inconvenience caused to our customers," McDonald's Japan said.

"We will do our utmost to ensure stable procurement of raw materials so that regular sales can be resumed as soon as possible," the company was quoted as saying by Japanese public broadcaster NHK.