McDonald’s abandoning Kazakhstan biz due to meat supply woes

McDonald’s Corp. will withdraw its business in Kazakhstan after six years of operations due to a shortage of meat supply after disruptions triggered by the Ukraine invasion.

Although Kazakh businesses aren’t covered by sanctions against Russia, McDonald’s banned its local franchisee from procuring meat patties from Russian suppliers.

There are 24 McDonald’s restaurants in Kazakhstan, owned by TOO Food Solutions KZ, which suspended operations in November due to supply issues.

The Kazakh business was unable to source meat patties from local or European suppliers, as higher prices and freight costs would result in a business loss.

A further obstacle to McDonald's future in Kazakhstan is franchisee owner Kairat Boranbayev’s arrest in March on suspicion of embezzlement.

Boranbayev had a McDonald's franchise in Belarus, which had its license revoked due to supply concerns, last year.