South Korea Fast Food Chains Face Problems Serving Their French Fries

Two fast-food chains in South Korea are facing problems serving their French fries due to the potato shortage that has now spread.

Lotteria, one of the fast-food chains affected, posted an online notice that some of its restaurants may replace French fries with other sides due to the shortage, according to New Straits Times.

Lotte GRS, the operator of Lotteria, said it was now looking for other global potato suppliers instead of the US, from where it 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.

McDonald's Korea said some restaurants in the country might offer other sides from the menu instead of French fries and asked for customers' understanding.

“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 US. South Korea does not grow many potatoes due to its low profitability.

Japan and several other Asian countries recently had similar issues with their supply of potatoes and they were forced to look at other sources to resolve the issue.