国际英语新闻：McDonald's to close in Iceland for higher cost

STOCKHOLM, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. fast food chain McDonald's in Iceland announced that all its restaurants would close at the end of October, according to reports reaching here from Reykjavik on Tuesday.

"The reason is the rising cost of imported supplies following the collapse of the Icelandic krona," reported the Icelandic electronic newspaper Iceland Review.

    "The low exchange rate in addition to high tariffs have doubled the company's expenses for meat, cheese, vegetables and other products and challenged its profitability. The ingredients for hamburgers must be imported according to McDonald's regulations," said Iceland Review.

This file photo shows a billboard of U.S. fast food chain McDonald's. McDonald's in Iceland announced that all its restaurants would close at the end of October

    The first McDonald's restaurant opened in 1993 in Iceland's capital city Reykjavik. The first person who took a bite out of a Big Mac on the island was then-Prime Minister David Oddsson.

    The Icelandic operator of McDonald's has decided to open a new fast food chain in the three locations in Reykjavik where McDonald's currently operate, said the report, adding that new restaurants will have Icelandic hamburgers with Icelandic ingredients on the menu.