Business
McDonald’s $5 meal deal blamed for demise of french fry factory

Published
5 months agoon
By
Ekwutos BlogThe biggest french fry supplier to McDonald’s has blamed the chain’s $5 meal deal for its factory closure and job losses.
Lamb Weston, the largest producer of fries in North America, announced earlier this month that it is closing a factory in Washington and laying off nearly 400 employees.
Boss Thomas Werner said that demand for fries is falling because of smaller portion sizes included in discount deals. Burger King and Wendy’s have near-identical $5 meals too.
‘Many of these promotional meal deals have consumers trading down from a medium fry to a small fry,’ he said on an earnings call earlier this month.
McDonald’s initially launched its $5 value meal as a summer promotion in June, but has extended it to Christmas due to high demand from cash-strapped customers.
‘The extension of the $5 Meal Deal, and the other offerings we’re announcing for our fall line-up, are just a few of the ways we’re working hard to offer great meals at a fair price,’ Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, said in September.
Erlinger confirmed that McDonald’s created the deal after he ‘zig-zagged the country’ and participated in focus groups with its customers.
‘They’ve felt the stress of the inflation over the last few years, and so this is a great opportunity for McDonald’s to bring them value,’ Erlinger said.
The meal consists of a McDouble or McChicken, a four-piece portion of chicken nuggets, a small drink, and – crucially – a small portion of fries.
‘Meal deals with smaller fries portions are certainly part of the problem,’ Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData Retail, told DailyMail.com.
‘Individually this doesn’t make much difference, but across the hundreds of millions of transactions within fast food this has a massive impact on volumes.
‘The other problem alongside this is people dining out less which is also impacting the volume of fries sold.’
McDonald’s is Lamb Weston’s largest customer, accounting for 13 percent of its sales, according to CNN.
As well as fully shutting down the Washington factory, Lamb Weston also announced it was temporarily cutting production at its other plants due to the slowing of customer demand.
Following several years of price rises, many fast food giants, including McDonald’s, have begun to offer value deals in a bid to win back customers.
McDonald’s suffered a surprise fall in sales in the April to June quarter, dragged down by fewer customers visiting the chain.

Around 80 percent of french fries consumed in the US come from fast-food chains, according to Lamb Weston

Following several years of price rises, many fast food giants, including McDonald’s, have begun to offer value deals in a bid to win back cash-strapped customers
It was the first sales decline since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered stores and millions stayed home.
According to Lamb Weston, around 80 percent of french fries consumed in the US come from fast-food chains – which means it is also exposed to declining foot fall at other restaurants.
Customer traffic to fast-food chains dropped 2 percent last quarter and 3 percent the previous quarter compared to the same time last year, the producer said.
It comes amid reports activist investor Jana Partners is pushing Lamb Weston to explore a sale.
Lamb Weston shares jumped around 8 percent in early trading on the news from The Wall Street Journal.
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Business
CBN declares report on N10,000, N5,000 banknotes as fake

Published
11 hours agoon
April 3, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dismissed as false a circulating report claiming that it has introduced new N5,000 and N10,000 banknotes to enhance cash transactions.
In a post on its official X handle, formerly Twitter, the apex bank said, “The content is not from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Kindly note that the official website of the CBN is cbn.gov.ng.”
A statement from the CBN’s communications department further clarified, “The only official sources for releasing statements to the media are our website or statements from our department. There is also no Deputy Governor by such name. We are investigating the source of this fake content.”
The report quoted one Deputy CBN Governor, Ibrahim Tahir Jr., the move is aimed at reducing cash-handling costs and providing Nigerians with more efficient means of conducting large transactions. “The introduction of these new high-value denominations aligns with global best practices and will enhance economic activities while reducing the stress associated with carrying large amounts of cash,” the Governor stated. The CBN said there is no such name in its leadership.
Business
NNPC: NAPE backs Tinubu on Kyari sack, Ojulari appointment

Published
1 day agoon
April 2, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists has backed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company board appointment.
The president of NAPE, Johnbosco Uche, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Ekwutosblog reports that Tinubu removed the NNPCL chairman, Pius Akinyelure, and the GCEO, Mele Kyari, on Wednesday.
Reacting, NAPE noted that the appointment of Bayo Ojulari as group chief executive officer and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman of NNPCL is a bold step towards repositioning the oil and gas industry for greater efficiency, transparency, and profitability.
“The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists wishes to express its profound appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the recent appointment of a new board and management team for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
“We are confident that the new team will bring the necessary expertise and experience to drive the oil and gas sector forward,” the association said.
Business
Why Aussie consumers could soon be paying DOUBLE for beef

Published
1 day agoon
April 2, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
- Small-scale farmers warning of $56/kg rump steaks
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Australian consumers could end up paying more than $50 a kilo for steak at the supermarket as a result of Donald Trump‘s tariffs on agriculture exports, farmers say.
A kilogram of rump steak at Woolworths is now selling for $28.
But the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, representing 350 small-scale farmers, fears rump steak will end of costing Australian consumers $56 at the supermarket.
Spokeswoman Tammi Jonas, an organic beef cattle producer from Daylesford in Victoria, said the American tariffs on agricultural imports would see more countries buy Australian beef to avoid trading with the US.
‘We already know there’s high demand for Australian beef around the world and I think that’s just going to get higher,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘In a global supply crunch like this, we could see rump steak climb past $50 per kilogram.
‘That’s not a family dinner – that’s a premium luxury.’
Dr Jonas said higher export prices would see less Australian meat sold to domestic consumers.

Australian consumers could end up paying more than $50 a kilo for steak as a result of Donald Trump ‘s tariffs on agriculture exports, farmers say (pictured is a Coles supermarket)
‘I would say there’s a strong likelihood of that, yes,’ she said.
‘And even if we still have enough beef sold within Australia, the prices are certain to go up.
‘Whenever you’re in those global markets, you roll with the volatility and if they can get a really high price overseas, they’re not going to charge less for domestic sales.’
But Angus Gidley-Baird, a senior analyst in animal protein with RaboResearch, said more expensive steak at the supermarket was unlikely, given the strong supply of Australian beef with the recent rainfall.
‘We produced record volumes of beef last year, I don’t see why there would be a shortage in the domestic market that would cause prices to rise,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The exports are effectively our markets that we sell the additional production into.’
Meat and Livestock Australia data showed the US was Australia’s biggest market for beef exports in 2024, putting it well ahead of Japan, South Korea and China.
Of the beef sent to the United States, 96 per cent of it was the leaner, grass fed variety that was either chilled or frozen.

The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance fears rump steak will end of costing Australian consumers $56 at the supermarket. Spokeswoman Tammi Jonas (left) said the American tariffs on agricultural imports would see more countries buy Australian beef to avoid trading with the US
The Americans have been in the grip of a drought, and most of their beef is fattier, grain-fed.
South American beef exporters Argentina and Brazil are also dealing with a lack of rainfall, which means demand for Australian beef would continue to be strong.
Mr Gidley-Baird said the Americans, who produced fattier, grain-fed beef, would still need the leaner, Australian grass-fed beef to make hamburger patties, regardless of import tariffs.
‘The US still continues to need imported product because they’re not producing as much themselves,’ he said.
‘They’ll still need Australian beef – the drought, it’s getting better in the US but they’ve liquidated their herd and production volumes are down.
‘What Australia sends to the US complements their production system over there in that it balances out the fatter product they’re producing for hamburger production.
‘They need the product and we’re one of the biggest suppliers of it – me being rational would still say that they would still buy it.’
At the margins, strong American demand for grass-fed beef had pushed up prices for Australian lean mince, now selling for $15.50 a kilo at Woolworths.

The Trump Administration’s tariffs of up to 25 per cent on agricultural imports are coming into affect on Thursday, along with tariffs on pharmaceutical products (President Donald Trump is pictured in the White House)
‘The US market has been very strong – it’s demanding a fair amount of product which is putting a bit of pressure on mince prices, lean product prices,’ Mr Gidley-Baird said.
The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance sees mince prices more than doubling to $36 a kilo.
But Dr Jonas predicted possible tariffs of up to 25 per cent on Australian beef would see American demand plunge, despite the fact they are in drought with an undersupply of grass-fed beef.
‘I think with a 25 per cent tariff they won’t be able to afford it – Americans are in as big a cost-of-living crisis as Australians are and they can’t handle a 25 per cent tariff on top of the higher meat price of imported Australian beef,’ she said.
The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance didn’t do specific economic modelling on Australian beef prices, as a result of the Trump tariffs on agriculture coming into effect on Thursday.
But it argued China’s African swine flu in 2019 led to a doubling of pork prices, as supply fell by 40 per cent.
The alliance campaigns against agribusiness giants like JBS Foods Australia, which owns feedlots and abattoirs.
‘The local farmers like us are losing access to the facilities to slaughter,’ Dr Jonas said.
‘While that sounds like a good thing for Australia – when we think, “We can export more” – the reality of that is very few people profit from that higher export.’
The Trump Administration’s tariffs of up to 25 per cent on agricultural imports are coming into effect on Thursday, along with tariffs on pharmaceutical products.
‘If it’s a large tariff but applied to everyone, our competitive position remains the same,’ Mr Gidley-Baird said.
They follow 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium, introduced on March 12.

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