If you’re planning on tucking into potato crisps this weekend, make sure you savour them.
Stocks of the snack are stretched after the wet winter caused millions of dollars worth of damage to potato crops.
Signs have been spotted at Pak’n Save supermarkets informing customers of supply problems.
A Foodstuffs spokeswoman said some of the potato chip suppliers were “having challenges meeting demand” due to the wet weather.
“We are working closely with our suppliers to manage supply as much as possible,” she said.
“It is anticipated new season crops will be harvested in the next few weeks so supply is likely to settle down then.”
Wet conditions throughout winter had two effects on crops, Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association president Brent Wilcox said.
“Planting up new season crops, growers haven’t been able to plant the crops on time because the ground’s been so wet,” he said.
Other crops had been lost because the potatoes were stored in the ground over winter and sodden soil caused them to rot.
Mr Wilcox said the financial impact was “millions of dollars” for farmers, who may struggle for the rest of the year to return supply to normal.
“It’s been quite stressful for growers . . . some growers have lost crops, they’ve been flooded.”
Mr Wilcox said wet weather affecting potato growing happened “to an extent” every year, “but this is quite, perhaps, more extreme than it has been for a while.”
Shoppers would have noticed prices for potatoes and potato products had “firmed” in the last month or so, he said.
New Zealand was last hit by a potato shortag e from late 2014 to early 2015 for similar reasons.
Meanwhile, the same problem affected Japan earlier this year, according to CNBC.
Bad weather in the northern island of Hokkaido, where 80% of the country’s potatoes are grown, meant spring potatoes only reached supermarkets in late May.
