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.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

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.”

See Also:

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.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

“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.