Durban — McCain foods has claimed that a national shortage of potatoes is making it difficult to keep up with demand, especially with the frozen French fries product in some supermarkets.
However, they say they expect this to only be temporary because supply should resume shortly.
Supermarket Spar spokesperson Kevin O’Brien, said there were various reasons for the lack of product availability, but from their perspective, there are two main factors affecting the availability of frozen fries.
He said first, there had been government-imposed duties placed on certain countries of product origin.
He added that this has had a considerable effect on the costs of imported products.
“These duties have significantly impacted pricing of imported frozen fries and therefore the requirement for alternative supply has resulted in many businesses across various industries driving increased demand from local suppliers.
“Secondly, the Spar Group is a big supporter of locally manufactured products and we have two strategically placed partners to aid us in mitigating risks in relation to the availability of frozen fries.
“However, the increased demand within the industry, coupled with the ongoing load shedding, has negatively impacted the ability of local suppliers to meet the aforementioned transferable demand for frozen fries,” said O’Brien.
Moreover, O’Brien explained that although customers are able to buy potatoes in stores, there are various types of potatoes, referred to as varietals, each with their own distinct characteristics.
“There is a specific potato called ‘the chipping potato’ which is specifically farmed for the purposes of supplying the frozen fries industry based on their own characteristics and ability to meet the stringent product requirements,” said O’Brien.
He added that the “everyday potatoes” that were for sale in stores were a completely different varietal and not intended “for the aforementioned purpose”.
Pick n Pay said their frozen food fridges remained stocked for customers, but some suppliers were impacted by the increased load shedding schedule.
Independent Media Business Report (BR) stated that the dramatic new import duties on European producers blocked supply to the local market.
The International Trade Administration Commission imposed heavy import tariffs on frozen French fries which came into effect in July last year in an apparent attempt to protect the local industry from “dumping” or being undercut by artificially lowered prices, stated BR.
This included duties on frozen chips from Belgium of up to 23.06%, and up to 104.52% from the Netherlands, while German suppliers have been hardest hit with new duties of 181.05%.
Daily News