McDonalds outlets within Japan are running short on french fries and are making drastic changes

Global fast food outlet McDonalds is seeing a shortage of french fries in Japan.

The fast food company is being forced to ration the product in the nation because of supply chain bottlenecks. It sources potatoes from North America, where omicron cases have been surging.

Reports state that in addition to coronavirus wreaking havoc, flooding at a Vancouver port has further squeezed the logistics network.

McDonald’s—usually goes by the local slang name of “Makudo” or “Makku” in Japan—is trying to arrange alternative flights to ensure the shortage doesn’t continue to plague its 2,900 Japanese outlets in the new year.

Meanwhile, it’s offering customers a 50 yen discount on combos (that typically come with medium fries) on account of the smaller portion.

Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time McDonald’s fries have faced a crunch in Japan. It happened around this time six years ago, too.

McDonald’s hopes that supply issues that will affect its 2,900 outlets in Japan will be resolved by New Year’s eve and said the move won’t affect its hash brown offerings.