Topline
McDonald’s restaurants in North and East India have stopped serving tomatoes in its burgers and wraps over what the company claims are quality and supply issues as surging prices of the vegetable in parts of the country have triggered internet jokes, music videos, heists and protests.
FILE PHOTO: McDonald’s India announced it will temporarily stop serving tomatoes at some of its … [+]
Key Facts
The American fast-food giant’s Indian franchisee, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd, put up notices across its stores on Friday saying it has not been able to get “adequate quantities of tomatoes which pass our stringent quality checks,” despite its “best efforts.”
The company added that “for the time being” it is being “forced” to serve products without tomatoes, without mentioning how long this issue will persist.
Several items on McDonald’s Indian menu—including its signature Maharaja Mac Chicken burger—include sliced tomatoes as an ingredient.
The issue only appears to be limited to McDonald’s restaurants in North and East India as the McDonald’s franchisee for the western and southern regions of the country remain unaffected by the shortage, Reuters reported.
McDonald’s India owns Connaught Plaza Restaurants which operates Mcdonald’s outlets in North and East India, while a third-party franchisee Westlife Foodworld operates McDonald’s restaurants in southern and western parts of the country.
Key Background
The price of tomatoes in some parts of India has crossed $2 (Rs 165) per kilogram (about 90 cents a pound), five times higher than at the start of the year. The price of tomatoes (along with onions) is often a sensitive political issue in India and is seen by voters as an inflation marker. The most recent price rise has prompted jokes about tomatoes costing more than gasoline along with memes and music videos on social media. The steep prices have even led to a widely reported heist of tomatoes worth Rs 150,000 in the south Indian state of Karnataka. The opposition Congress party has blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s “flawed” economic policies for the price rise while its members have organized street protests by wearing necklaces made of tomatoes, comparing them to jewelry. The government, however, has insisted that the price rise is simply a seasonal production issue and it expect tomato prices to normalize soon.
Further Reading
McDonald’s drops tomatoes from India offerings, citing quality concerns as prices surge (Reuters)
A 445% Price Jump Makes Tomatoes More Pricey Than Gasoline in India (Bloomberg)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/07/07/mcdonalds-stops-using-tomatoes-in-india-amid-record-prices-alters-maharaja-mac/