McDonald's, Lotteria plagued by potato shortages

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 05:30

Companies

McDonald's, Lotteria plagued by potato shortages

Posted : 2022-04-16 09:31

Updated : 2022-04-16 09:31

Lotteria's online notification apologizing to customers for replacing French fries due to a potato shortage / Screenshot from Lotteria's mobile application

By Kim Jae-heun

McDonald's Korea and Lotteria are suffering from potato shortages, scrambling to replace their French fries with chicken nuggets or cheese sticks due to climate change and supply chain problems amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to company officials, Friday. More consumers, as a result, are expressing frustrations over the changes, as both hamburger franchises have been changing their menus frequently, as seen in their response to the previous tomato and lettuce supply crisis.

Lotteria posted an online notification that some of its restaurants may replace French fries with other sides due to the shortage. McDonald's has also been sharing a similar post asking for customers' understanding.

"Lotteria French fries are my favorite and that is why I eat there. But the restaurant chain has been offering cheese sticks instead of French fries occasionally in the past two years and I am getting sick of it," a 27-year-old surnamed Lee said.

Lotte GRS, operator of Lotteria, said it is seeking other global potato suppliers instead of the U.S., where the fast food franchise imports most of its potatoes from.

"We started to import frozen potatoes from Europe last year to cope with repeated supply difficulties. The quality of potatoes may be different (from American potatoes), but the company decided it is better to supply the food stably first," a Lotte GRS official said.

The situation is better for McDonald's Korea. It has notified its customers that some restaurants in the country might offer other sides instead of French fries, but it is not a big issue, the company said.

"We have posted the notice in case we might face difficulty supplying French fries, but it is not a big problem for now. Only a few of our stores are offering chicken nuggets instead of French fries," a company official said.

Most local franchise firms use imported frozen potatoes from the United States. Potatoes are barely produced in Korea due to low profitability.

Idaho is one of the largest potato-producing U.S. states, but the region was affected by a drought and heat wave last year. Additionally, the pandemic caused a labor shortage during the potato harvesting season.

jhkim@koreatimes.co.kr