Japan’s McDonald’s to put big fries back on menu, saying inventory problems resolved

TOKYO – Big fries are going back on the menu in Japan.

McDonald’s Japan said Friday it will resume serving all portion sizes of fries on Jan. 5 after resolving shortages due to labour disruptions on the U.S. West Coast. The fast-food giant began limiting customers to orders of small fries earlier this month.

The company said in a notice on its website that its fry inventory had improved thanks to air shipments and extra sea shipments from the U.S. East Coast. It apologized and said it would try to avoid further shortfalls at its 3,100 outlets in Japan.

Frozen french fries — cut and ready for the deep-fryer — are a leading U.S. export.

Japan’s locally grown potatoes are mostly eaten fresh, rather than as fries, and production has been declining for years. Most of the more than 300,000 tons of french fries consumed in the country each year come from imports of frozen, processed potatoes.