Japanese consumers can count the toll of disruptions in global supply chains and shipping on their dinner plates.

The country’s biggest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, has stopped selling fried chicken on skewers — a popular snack — in certain regions. Meanwhile, some restaurants have limited poultry offerings to a paltry single skewer per customer.

Chicken has become the most visible example of Japanese shortages stemming from Southeast Asia, where the coronavirus pandemic has slowed poultry processing plants in key supplier Thailand. But wine, shrimp and other goods have also grown scarcer or pricier in a trend that threatens hopes for a recovery in consumer spending.

Customer traffic has picked up in Japan since a coronavirus state of emergency was lifted, upsetting a delicate supply-demand balance in the food industry. As cities ease coronavirus-related restrictions on restaurant hours and alcohol sales, one yakitori chicken restaurant chain has told customers they are only allowed to have one chicken skin skewer each.

“We need to consider changing suppliers,” a spokesperson said.

Japanese consumers can count the toll of disruptions in global supply chains and shipping on their dinner plates.

The country’s biggest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, has stopped selling fried chicken on skewers — a popular snack — in certain regions. Meanwhile, some restaurants have limited poultry offerings to a paltry single skewer per customer.

Chicken has become the most visible example of Japanese shortages stemming from Southeast Asia, where the coronavirus pandemic has slowed poultry processing plants in key supplier Thailand. But wine, shrimp and other goods have also grown scarcer or pricier in a trend that threatens hopes for a recovery in consumer spending.

Customer traffic has picked up in Japan since a coronavirus state of emergency was lifted, upsetting a delicate supply-demand balance in the food industry. As cities ease coronavirus-related restrictions on restaurant hours and alcohol sales, one yakitori chicken restaurant chain has told customers they are only allowed to have one chicken skin skewer each.

“We need to consider changing suppliers,” a spokesperson said.
Source: Nikkei