In New Zealand, farmers warned that they would be hit with an extreme shortage of a beloved snack food, crisps. In the United States, the term “crisps” is referred to “chips” due to french fries already being called chips in Great Britain. Caused by persistent wet winter weather on New Zealand islands, about a third of the of the potato crop has been lost.

Potatoes New Zealand, an Industry body reported that the price for a kilogram has risen from AUD $1.63 to $2.12 in just a year.

“I think this is only [going to be] a temporary problem,” freshman Lee Wiseman said.

Because the seasons are opposite on the southern hemisphere, New Zealand is currently facing one of their wettest years yet. Chief executive of Potatoes New Zealand Chris Claridge was interviewed by Radio Live NZ.

“Potatoes are actually alive – they need to breathe. And so effectively they drown, and then they start to rot… because they’re submerged in water,” Claridge said.

Although there are a shortage of crisps at the moment, big retailers such as Foodstuffs have excess crisps in stock.

“We hold a lot of product in our distribution centers and so we aren’t short at this stage,” Antoinette Laird said.

1. Supermarket Pak’N’Save tried to put down the fear of a shortage by saying there was an “ordering error,” after a sign was posted on an empty shelf saying there was a shortage of crisps. Despite what Pak’N’Save said about the ordering error, Laird also mentioned the shortage could last all the way until the new year.

“We are working with our suppliers to minimise any potential impact,” Laird said.

“[They could] import potatoes from neighboring countries like Australia,” Wiseman said.

While some New Zealanders are panicking, some of them see the silver lining of this shortage. New Zeland poet Claudia Jardine tweeted about the subject.

“If it takes a #chipocalypse to make NZers serious about climate change, then so be it,” Claudia Jardine said.

“I don’t think any action will be done because things like these just happen sometimes,” Wiseman acknowledged.

Bharat Bhana, a New Zealand local has been farming potatoes in Pukekohe for 60 years. Because of the heavy rains that ruined a third of the potatoes, the potato farming business will ultimately be at loss this year.

“I don’t know how we can prepare for climate change,” Bhana said.

Although the crisps shortage could last until the New Year, Potatoes New Zealand said there will be potatoes for Christmas. Christmas dinners often include many potato dishes, and New Zealanders want to have their potatoes for Christmas.

“[Or you could] just cook some turkey,” Wiseman said.