The Great French Fry Shortage and How It Is Affecting the Global Food Supply

                                     
French fries aren’t just a food dish, they represent an entire emotion. You won’t find a single person out there who doesn’t like eating fries. They are a cult classic and have a massive fan following. 

In a surprising turn of events taking place in the last couple of months, outlets of famous joints like McDonald’s and KFC started running out of French fries and other potato-based products in countries across the globe.

Over some time, they have been adapted so well with different kinds of flavors like peri-peri. I am pretty sure everyone has their own favorite French fry dish or a dedicated fast-food outlet from where they like to get their fries from. For some, it's just a side dish but for some, it’s their main course.

It all started with McDonald’s in Japan wherein the diners could only buy fries in the small size. The logic behind this was that by doing so many customers could continue to enjoy it without any interruptions. 

The latest to feel the crunch were McDonald’s stores located in Indonesia, where the customers could only order small and medium sizes, due to the limited availability of French fries at this time. 

Meanwhile, in Taiwan, popular food items, “hash browns” were simply pulled off the menu. The thing here is that it is not just McDonald’s or east Asia that is being hit.

In fact, in Kenya last month, KFC’s flagship product- the fried chicken had to be sold as an alternative side dish when it completely ran out of French fries. 

It got so bad that grocery stores in South Africa ran out of Lay’s potato chips.
The question in everyone's mind right now is, “what is the reason behind this global shortage”? One of the reasons behind the disruption in potato supply was due to frost conditions affecting a crop’s yield. 

As a regular food item transforms into a staple food, there is a higher probability of its shortage. It is a counterintuitive occurrence. And events like the Covid 19 pandemic can make things take a turn for the worse.

Fast food joints like McDonald's, which boasts a global presence, have strict regulations in place that need to be followed in all stores across all countries in the world. This is required to retain the sought-after taste and have standardization. 

However, it can also be a bit problematic. Since the products need to be made from a specific type of potato, which in most cases is imported, the local potato produce of a country is not approved because it doesn’t meet the set standards or doesn’t pass the necessary checks.

There is no point denying that French fries have become the latest victim of a strained food supply chain. There is a scarcity amid supply chain disruptions wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and unsuitable weather conditions. 

Something like this had happened in 2014 also when 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.

There is another point that lack of versatility in the global agricultural trade was the root cause of this problem, as opposed to a shortage of potatoes themselves.
Meanwhile on the other hand some restaurant chains are trying to use the current situation as a perfect opportunity to boost their sales. 

One of Japan’s local burger chains, in a bid to impress their customers, marketed their brand by highlighting that they made their products using potatoes produced in Hokkaido, and also offered a 25% increase in the volume of its fries until the end of February.

And a convenience store operator started selling a new bucket size of fries, which is triple the existing size.

Unaware of the crux of this situation some Twitteraties were quick to tweet that why couldn’t fast food chains just simply source different kinds of potatoes. Others said good riddance and were quick to point out that French fries were not good for people’s health anyway.

However, for staunch French fry lovers, this incident was not less than an apocalypse in itself.

Written by: Varima Tondon