TOKYO: Legions of Japanese crisps addicts are suffering and it doesn’t look like they’ll be getting their full fix anytime soon. The country is in the midst of a dire crisps shortage after violent typhoons wiped out potato crops in top tuber producing Hokkaido. Calbee, Japan’s top snacks maker, has stopped selling about 30 kinds of crisps in all or part of the country since the middle of April. “Potatoes are only harvested once a year.”A dizzying number of government regulations on potato imports is exacerbating the shortage problem. Japan may not usually be associated with crisps, but industry figures show they rake in nearly 163 billion yen ($1.46 billion) in annual sales.

Source: Manila Times April 26, 2017 07:41 UTC