french fry shortage

Canada braces for french fry shortage due to dwindling potato supply

All you die-hard french fry lovers might want to start stocking up right about now, because Canada's likely to experience a potato shortage in the very near future. 

Potato producers in both Canada and the U.S. have reported that extremely cold and wet weather conditions have negatively impacted potato crops this year.

That, paired with increasing demand for potatoes, is resulting in a North American shortage. 

Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, told CTV News Channel that potato processors are doing everything in their power to get their hands on ingredients in order to provide consumers with chips and fries, but harvest this year has been particularly tough. 

According to Bloomberg, farmers in Alberta and Idaho managed to dig up and store some of the damaged crops but growers in Manitoba, North Dakota and Minnesota received so much snow and rain that they were forced to abandon some supplies in fields.

Blooberg also reported that 18 per cent of Manitoba’s harvest was left in the ground due to poor weather, which is equal to the entire amount abandoned across Canada in 2018. 

Stephen Nicholson, a senior grains and oilseeds analyst at Rabobank, told Bloomberg this shortage, along with high demand due to an increase in fry-processing capacity, will likely lead to tight supplies and climbing potato prices. 

Prince Edward Island is the country's largest potato grower, while Manitoba is number two and Alberta is third.

Meanwhile, hungry Canadians are taking to social media to express their concerns about the potential french fry shortage. 

Some are saying no french fries basically means the end of the world. 

While others are already moving on to a different deep-fried treat. 

The Canadian government is set to issue estimates for the nation’s crop on December 6.

Lead photo by

Jesse Milns


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