McDonald's fries return to Venezuela but cost a pretty penny for locals

Venezuelans missing the salty taste of McDonald's french fries canline up at their nearest golden arches, but could be in store for some sticker shock after they place their order. The country's economic policies have made the price nearly a tenth of the country's monthlyminimum wage.

The fries were reintroduced to the South American nation after a 10-month absence with a social media ad. The campaign didn't mention the increased cost, however.

While the item in the picture is obvious, its return was in doubt.

Venezuela, whichhas multiple official currency controls on its bolivars on top of the black market, has struggled economically. Policies put in place by PresidentNicolas Maduroand his predecessor Hugo Chavezhave been cited as the source for various shortages, including toilet paper.

The currency exchangeshows how expensive the fries can be, as a large costs roughly$166using the strongestofficial rate. But using the black market exchange rate lowers the cost significantly.Fusion writes thata large portion wouldonly cost $1.15US at the black marketrate.

McDonald's tried replacing potato-based french fries with fried cassava back in January, but many people didn't like the new taste. The tweet below reads, "When I only wantMcDonald's fries, and theyonly havecassava there."

Not that the campaign affected the opinions ofnumerous people on Twitter who as recently as last week werelamenting the loss of their precious fries. In the tweet below, a man wrote that they wanted to time travel back to when McDonald's had french fries.

McDonald's new solution is usingVenezuelan potatoes, though the shift means theirregular fries(at 500 bolivars)and thelarge each costmore than aMcDuos acombo meal thatis justa hamburger and a drink. The McDuos is only 440 bolivars.

Neither item is cheap though, as the current monthly minimum wage is still just over 9,600 bolivars, according to Bloomberg.

So while some are happy that their french fries have simply been returned to them, others view the expense as a illustration of the current economic state of the country.

"You know your country is a global punchline whenthis is an actual story in the news," writes theCaracas Chronicle.

Awarning to those looking for an expensive taste-testthe spokeswoman for the company that manages McDonald's in Latin Americasaid to the Associated Press that they're not the same french friesas before. This batchhas a "new flavour, specially made in Venezuela."