日本土豆歉收引發薯片危機

Japanese potato crisp-maker Calbee and its main rival Koike-Ya are facing a major crunch in their supply chain.

日本薯片製造商卡樂比和其主要競爭對手湖池屋均面臨原材料供應危機。

Both firms are said to be suspending sales or discontinuing several crisp brands after Japan suffered its worst potato harvest in at least 34 years.

兩家公司都表示，由於日本遭受了近34年以來最嚴重的的土豆生產不足，將暫停或停止銷售幾個品牌的薯片。

Typhoons and floods in Hokkaido, its main potato-growing region, last year caused a shortage of the vegetable.

北海道是最主要的馬鈴薯種植區，去年的颱風和洪水災害嚴重影響了蔬菜的收成。

Calbee looked to cover the shortfall by increasing US potato imports, but that proved insufficient to meet demand.

卡樂比希望通過增加馬鈴薯的進口以填補缺口，但事實證明這並不能滿足需求。

According to local media reports, including The Japan Times and The Mainichi, Calbee and Koike-Ya are halting shipments of 49 potato crisp products.

據包括《日本時報》、《每日新聞》在內的當地媒體報道，卡樂比和湖池屋正在停止49種薯片產品的出貨。

Calbee, which owns more than half of Japan's snack food market, saw shares fell by more than 1% last Tuesday. Koike-ya, which is Japan's second-largest snack maker, saw shares tumble by 3.5%.

佔有日本休閒食品市場一半以上份額的卡樂比，其股價於上週二下跌了1%。而日本第二大零食生產商湖池屋的股價則大跌3.5%。

Both companies declined to comment whether there would be an impact on their upcoming earnings.

這兩家公司都拒絕對此次事件是否會影響他們未來的盈利發表評論。