RESTAURANTS IN JAPAN are facing a crippling shortage of chips – so much so that one large chain is planning a giant chip airlift from the US.
McDonald’s and other fast food outlets and “family restaurants” are popular in Japan - serving Western style meals with a Japanese twist. However they depend on imports for their french-fry supplies, Kyodo News reported.
But a dockworkers’ dispute on the US West Coast has caused a months-long slowdown, creating a chip backlog and crimping imports to Japan.
The Japanese arm of McDonald’s has been having problems since mid-November, Kyodo said, while Royal Holdings, which runs several family restaurant chains, said it has a few months’ worth of chips in stock, but was keeping a close eye on things.
The operator of the Gusto chain said it planned to fly in around 200 tonnes of chips to avoid running short, the agency reported.
News of the chip woes came with Japan already in the throes of a butter shortage that is threatening to ruin Christmas for millions of cake-baking Japanese housewives.
Supermarket shelves have been empty for weeks, with any new stock disappearing almost as fast as it arrives, despite store-imposed limits of one pack per customer.
The ministry earlier said a sweltering summer had left the nation’s cows exhausted, and sapped their milk-producing ability.
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