TOKYO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Demand for potato chips in Japan surged this week, which led to panic buying and the price soaring to six times than usual.
The crisis came after Japanese potato chip maker Calbee temporarily halted its production of nearly three dozen potato chip brands, according to Fortune.
The price of Calbee's pizza-flavoured chips is about 1250 yen a bag (about 12 U.S. dollars) on Yahoo Japan's auction website.
It usually only sells for less than 200 yen (about two U.S. dollars). People flocked to supermarkets to buy potato chips, causing some shelves become empty.
"We're doing everything we can to resume sales again," said Rie Makuuchi, a spokeswoman for Tokyo-based Calbee.
According to statistic of Singapore's Today, Japan has had its worst potato harvest. Calbee reportedly imported only about 15 percent of its potatoes from the U.S. in 2015, and has been unable to increase imports enough to completely cover the supply shortfall.
The potato chips shortage may spread to fast food chains and restaurants, which rely on the snacks and other products.
