By George Munene
Global fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, has said that it is ready to on-board Kenyan potato suppliers given they meet its strict expectations in quality and safety.
Following a Monday announcement by the American franchise that it had ran out of French fries, many Kenyans were aghast to learn that in a country where up to 30,000 acres of land are under potato production and the farm gate price of a 90kg bag of the tuber hit a low of Sh500 this year, it imports most of its potato from Egypt.
In the wake of #BoycottKFC, a twitter trend that went on for the better part of Tuesday, the firm’s chief executive for East Africa Jacques Theunissen told the press, “Although we currently import our French fries, there is an opportunity to source the potatoes from a local supplier that meets the global KFC quality and safety specifications in the near future.”
The National Potato Council of Kenya CEO Wachira Kaguongo said that KFC’s decision to re-examine their earlier stand on local supply of potatoes presents a great opportunity for Kenya farmers who have been lobbying to supply the franchise with potatoes and don’t mind meeting their set standards.