Shortage prompts McCain to close Grand Falls plant for summer

McCain Foods Canada Ltd. announced a temporary closure of its processing plant in Grand Falls, N.B., due to a shortage of potatoes. The closure will affect 120 workers at the plant, which had been bringing potatoes from Prince Edward Island. A McCain spokesperson told CBC the company cannot get enough potatoes to keep the plant going through the summer.

McCain Foods Canada Ltd. announced a temporary closure of its processing plant in Grand Falls, N.B., due to a shortage of potatoes. The closure will affect 120 workers at the plant, which had been bringing potatoes from Prince Edward Island. A McCain spokesperson told CBC the company cannot get enough potatoes to keep the plant going through the summer.

From the CBC:

[Calla] Farn said the company is going to try and minimize the impact on the 120 workers.

“We have scheduled essential training during the shutdown and we have redeployed some of our people to other areas,” she said.

Bad weather in the last growing season is at the root of the problem which will shut the plant down until the next harvest in August or September.