South Africans will not only pay more for 10kg potatoes after the price massively increased by 13% due to low supply from farmers, but may struggle to find some of their favourite Lays chips on the shelves this festive season.
The low supply of Lays chips comes after harsh weather conditions caused a potato shortage throughout the country, which has left the manufacturers of the renowned chips brands Lays and Simba chips, PepsiCo, with little stock.
According to the senior vice president for South Africa foods & beverages at PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa, John Stevenson, the company’s low inventory levels comes at a bad time as the country has just entered the festive season and demand for chips have increased, Business Insider South Africa reported.
Also read: Potato prices increase steeply for South Africans
Stevenson said that PepsiCo has triggered a considerable Business Continuity Planning process to ensure that they increase their availability. This includes increasing raw material stock levels and securing different sources of supply.
Meanwhile, South Africa is not the only country that is facing potato poverty after several McDonald’s outlets in Japan have resorted to rationing fries and suspended the sale of large and medium-sized fries.
Read more:
The tribe has spoken, Simba ‘All Gold Tomato Sauce’ flavour has been voted out
Picture: 2 Oceans