Flooding in B.C. led to fry shortage at McDonald's in Japan, company says

Japan's McDonald's stores are set to put a pause on medium and large orders of fries this Friday, saying B.C.flooding contributed to potato supply-chain issues.

In a statement to announce it would begin selling only small orders of friesin response tobottlenecks caused by the pandemic, the fast food chain specifically pointedtoflooding at the Port of Vancouver as the culprit.

"Import delays have occurred for potatoes imported from North America due to the effects of a large-scale flood near the Port of Vancouver, Canadawhich is a transit point for shipping services,"the company said in a translated release.

The Port of Vancouver, one of North America's largest shipping hubs, is still working its way through a backlog of built-up cargo after November flooding forced thousands of people from their homes and stalled truck and train access to the port.

In a written statement to CBC, the port authority says therecovery phase is well underway to stabilize the supply chain.

"B.C.'s recent flood-event exacerbated supply-chain challenges already occurring on the west coast of North America," the statementsaid. "Today, both CP and CN rail operations are consistently operating between Vancouver and Kamloops as significant repair and restoration activities have been undertaken in the impacted areas."

McDonald's Japan said it would begin selling only small orders of fries on Friday and plans for larger-size fry salesto resume in the new year.