Out of Stock! Philippine Stories

[JJReyes]

15 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

I'm still trying to get my head around McDonalds not having large fries. I tried a few times to ask why they don't just put two small bags together and charge for large fries. 

When McDonalds first opened in the Philippines, one problem was sourcing for potatoes suitable for fries.  Importing them from Australia or the United States was not economical.  Growing areas are limited since the spuds prefer higher elevations and colder areas.  The solution was contract growers.  The growth of competitors like Jollibee is again causing supply shortages.  Smaller bags are one way to address the problem.  It's similar to rationing.

[Mike J]

17 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

I'm still trying to get my head around McDonalds not having large fries. I tried a few times to ask why they don't just put two small bags together and charge for large fries. 

Here is what McDonalds Philippines has to say.  Now that covid is winding down, maybe the situation will improve.  Have not been to McDs for about a year but last time I was in you could only get a small fry.  Or you could substitute the small fry for a sunday and not extra cost.

https://www.mcdonalds.com.ph/press-center/eyes-on-the-fries

We are committed to serving only the best-tasting fries to customers. We make sure that our fries are sourced responsibly and prepared meticulously to ensure that all over the world, we all get the same quality and experience.

McDonald’s World Famous Fries are made using the Russet Burbank Potatoes—the worldwide gold-standard for McDonald’s Fries. This specific potato variant is effectively cultivated in locations with favorable climate, location elevation, and rainfall predictability. Unfortunately, our climate and soil type in the Philippines is not appropriate to produce the Russet Burbank variant that’s why we import our fries from various locations like North America and other countries. 
 
Over the past few months, we have temporarily removed our larger fries sizes from our menu. This is because we have been experiencing a delay in the importation of our fries due to the global freight crisis, and not a lack of the Russet Burbank variant. 
 
As economies worldwide gradually begin to reopen, the demand for fries increases which renders our supply incapable to cope. The whole supply chain is affected by the delay—from in-land trucking, warehouse space, and transport equipment. These caused a significant congestion of vessels in ports around the world. China, which is a major trading hub, has a zero-Covid policy that caused major delays in shipment because of its strict pandemic lockdown.  
 
We are working hard to bring our larger fries sizes back on our menu. While we are unable to assure when, our regular fries will continue to be available for everyone’s enjoyment in all branches nationwide. 
 

FAQs:
 

1. Why are you not serving Large/ Medium Fries?
There is an ongoing shortage on our potato supply due to the global freight crisis. We continue to serve Fries but to ensure that customers are able to enjoy them for a longer period of time, we are making the regular size available at the moment. Rest assured that we are doing our best to secure supply so we can resume making all sizes of your favorite McDo Fries available again soon!

2. When will you start serving Large/ Medium Fries again? 
We are doing our best to build our supply of Fries at the soonest time possible. Rest assured that we will be back to serving all product sizes once supply shortage has improved

3. Are you already serving BFF Fries in delivery?
Yes, we are already serving BFF Fries via delivery!

4. Why are you not serving BFF Fries in the Front Counter/ Drive Thru?
There is an ongoing shortage on our potato supply due to the global freight crisis. We are able to serve BFF Fries but to ensure that customers are able to enjoy them for a longer period of time, we are limiting its availability to delivery channels only. Rest assured that we are doing our best to secure supply so we can have BFF Fries available again in all our channels soon.  

5. When will you start serving BFF Fries again in all channels including Front Counter/ Drive Thru? 
We are doing our best to build our supply of Fries at the soonest time possible. Rest assured that we will be back to serving all product sizes in all channels once supply shortage has improved.

[Snowy79]

[JJReyes]

Our family farm is located 1200 feet above sea level.  I recall being approached by McDonalds, (McGeorge Corp.  the local master franchisee), about growing potatoes.  We declined.  Similarly, Nestle' offered us and other farms in the area to develop coffee fields of a varietal suitable for their needs.  The company would supply farmers the cuttings and financial aid.  I later heard McDonalds had potato fields in Benguet, Mountain Province.  Maybe with GATT (General Agreement on Trade & Tariff) it is economical to import potatoes grown elsewhere. 

In the United States, McDonalds has central plants processing and freeze drying their pre-cut potato needs.  In-N-Out Burger promotes fresh peeled and fresh cooked.  Stopping at their Barstow, California restaurant early morning, I counted 20 - 5-gallon buckets filled with peeled spuds next to their prep room.  That's an astonishing quantity.  The restaurant is a popular stopping place for use of the restrooms for tour buses on their way to Las Vegas.  We like it because they also have RV parking.