CANADA: Potato shortage forces suspension at McCain plant
By Katy Askew | 8 June 2012
French fry giant McCain Foods has taken a number of actions to mitigate the impact a potato shortage in Eastern Canada and Manitoba will have on production levels.
A shortage of potatoes, caused by poor weather conditions last spring and autumn, has forced the company to close a processing plant in Grand Falls.
One production line will shut down on 10 June and a second will stop on 1 July, a spokesperson for the company told just-food. Potato processing is not expected to resume at the plant until the new potato crop comes in in late August or early September.
However, the spokesperson insisted that the poor crop is not expected to result in shortages at the retail level.
"We were well aware that we would be facing potato shortages due to poor weather conditions last spring and fall and have taken action to ensure there would be no impact on our customers by shifting production to regions not impacted by the shortages and accelerating our production to build inventories and maintain quality," the spokesperson said. "Although we are a Canadian company we have global operations, so whenever there was a shortage we were able to shift production elsewhere."
The company has also taken action to minimise the impact that the shut down will have on the 120 staff at the Grand Falls plant.
"We had shipped potatoes from Prince Edward Island to Grand Falls to narrow the gap but there simply are not enough potatoes available to close the gap entirely. We have also taken action to minimize the impact on our employees by scheduling essential training during the shut down period and have redeploying our people where possible," the spokesperson added.
Sectors: Fresh produce, Frozen
Companies: McCain Foods
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