No Fries With Burgers And Nuggets: Potato Shortage Hits McDonald’s Substitute In Russia

The company running 'Vkusno I Tochka' outlets in Russia after McDonald's pulled out over the Ukraine invasion has said it expects to have fries back on the menu in a few month’s time.

A 'Vkusno I Tochka' outlet, the substitute for McDonald's, in Moscow. ( Image Source :Getty )

With McDonald’s shutting business in Russia in protest against the invasion of Ukraine by the latter, outlets of Vkusno-i tochka have replaced most of the McD restaurants in the country. The outlets had started to draw crowds, but it is now being reported that the fast food chain will stop serving fries temporarily as a side dish with the burgers and nuggets, BBC reported, quoting Russian media.

The reason is being attributed to a shortage of the “correct variety of potatoes”, the report said.

The company has said it expects to have fries back on the menu in a few month’s time.

The fast food giant from the United States of America had sold its restaurants to a Russian businessman before pulling out of the country. Many of its outlets have reopened under the name of "Vkusno i Tochka", which means “Tasty and that's it” in Russian.

But a key item on the menu is now in short supply. According to the report, another dish, "Rustic potatoes", which is a thicker-cut version of the traditional French fries, could be unavailable too.

According to a report by Russian news agency Tass, the company has blamed the shortage on poor harvest in 2021 for the variety of potato needed to make fries.

Russia's agriculture ministry, however, sought to play down any concerns over a shortage of potatoes, the BBC report said.

"The Russian market is fully supplied with potatoes, including processed ones. In addition, crops from the new harvest are already arriving, which rules out the possibility of a shortage," the ministry was quoted as saying in a statement titled "There are potatoes - and that's it" on Telegram. 

With Russia facing Western sanctions, which are disrupting supply chains, the economy of the country could shrink by up to 10% in 2022, it has been reported.

Many Western countries have pulled out of Russia over its Ukraine invasion in February 2022. McDonald's, which had opened its first restaurant in Moscow in 1990, is only one of them.