McDonald’s is planning to leave Kazakhstan, Bloomberg reported citing its sources. It is reported that the reason was disruption in the supply of meat from Russia amid the special operation in Ukraine.
According to the sources, although Kazakh businesses are not subject to sanctions against Moscow, McDonald’s has banned a local franchisee from purchasing cutlets from Russian suppliers.
It is also specified that Kazakh companies could not buy cutlets from local or European suppliers, as higher prices and the cost of transporting goods across the country would mean doing business at a loss.
In November 2022 McDonald’s in Kazakhstan (Food Solutions KZ LLP) announced on its website and social networks that starting from November 18 it would suspend the operation of all its restaurants due to local supply constraints. The company assured it will do its best to reopen as soon as possible, promising to provide a timeline for the restaurants’ reopening at a later date. McDonald’s franchisee in Kazakhstan is a major businessman Kairat Boranbayev, who was ranked 14th richest man in the country in 2021 by Forbes Kazakhstan magazine, with a fortune of US$590 million. At the end of December 2022, he was put on trial in Astana for embezzlement in the gas sector.
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