Fast food business KFC Kenya has not been offering chips in its local outlets after running out of imported potatoes. The business has also failed to purchase any local potatoes due to what it terms as poor quality.

After failing to import potatoes, the business which operates in Kenya through franchisee Kuku Foods East Afric has now been offering local customers alternative dishes. These include foods such as chicken, buns, soda, coleslaw and ugali for combo meals.

According to Chief Executive for East Africa Jacques Theunissen, the shortage of potatoes in its outlets has been due to a hitch in global supply of potatoes. “It has to do with delays in shipping lines due to the pandemic situation. Ships have been delayed for more than a month now, but we are working hard to restore as the first containers are arriving in the port within days,” he told a local daily.

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Theunissen said that the firm is not in a position to buy local potatoes because of the set standards. “The reason we cannot buy local at the moment is all suppliers need to go through the global QA approval process and we cannot bypass that even if we run out to ensure that our food is safe for consumption by our customers,” he said.