Quebec produces 73 percent of the world’s maple syrup supply but was hit with a shorter and warmer spring sugaring season, causing output to fall.
The organization governing maple syrup producers in Quebec is releasing half its strategic reserve to address a global shortage of the province’s “blond gold.”
Helene Normandin with Quebec Maple Syrup Producers says the group will be releasing 50 million pounds of maple syrup – worth about $150 million – on the world market by February.
Normandin says the demand for maple syrup this year is outstripping supply.
She says Canadian maple syrup exports – most of which come from Quebec – have risen 20 per cent since January 2020, adding that last year’s warm winter resulted in the production of about 133 million pounds of syrup, down 40 million pounds compared with the prior year.
“This year’s production was lower overall, and it really was a combination of Mother Nature being uncooperative as far as a good season and the good news about maple syrup’s health benefits,” said Kevin McCormick, a seasoned maple syrup producer in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, which also saw a weather-related drop in production.
Normandin says people shouldn’t worry because her organization created the strategic reserve specifically to address shortages.
The reserve was created in the year 2000 and can hold up to 100 million pounds of maple syrup.
Quebec produces nearly three-quarters of the global maple syrup supply and exports the product to more than 60 countries.
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