It pays to think small as shortage of McDonald’s fries bites
Fast food giant McDonald’s has again halted sales of large and medium-sized portions of French fries in Japan, citing supply chain problems, although fans have been quick to share a workaround.
The solution for anyone who cannot go without fries, they say, is simply to order more small portions, even if this costs more.
On Friday, McDonald’s Holdings Japan announced it would stop selling large and medium portions of fries for around a month from Saturday.
The company introduced similar restrictions in late December for a week, citing delays in imports of frozen French fries from North America. McDonald’s said the restrictions were being brought back because of unusually heavy snow in western parts of Canada that has caused havoc with local transport systems and bad weather in the northern Pacific.
Those problems have been compounded by staffing shortfalls in Canada as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, flooding in areas close to the port of Vancouver, and a shortage of shipping containers.
The company said the rationing would be in force in around 2,900 restaurants across Japan.
But customers have been quick to spot a loophole.
“There are no restrictions on how many small portions of
French fries that you can order, so I’ll just order more that way,” said Ayako Ueda, a housewife from Saitama prefecture.
A small portion of McDonald’s fries weighs around 74 grams, the medium is 135 grams and the large is 170 grams. The largest portion costs 330 yen (HK$22) and the small version 150 yen, so three small portions would come in at 222 grams and 450 yen – significantly more fries but also more expensive than a large pack.
More than one cynic has suggested that rationing fries may be a tactic to encourage people to spend more. “I think it’s an effective promotion because everyone is talking about the problem,” one said.
Experts warn, however, that
Japan’s French fry shortage underlines a far more serious problem for a nation that relies heavily on imported foodstuffs.
In September, the ministry of agriculture reported that Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate had fallen to just 37 per cent. The nation’s food self-sufficiency rate was close to 80 per cent in 1960 but has been in steady decline.
The impact of the pandemic and related economic problems highlighted the problem, said Martin Schulz, senior economist for the Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo.
“I expect the McDonald’s situation to be back to normal quite quickly, but this should serve as a wake-up call about the nation’s food self-sufficiency rate,” he said.