Home » Faced with the maple syrup shortage, Canada is drawing on its strategic reserves

Faced with the maple syrup shortage, Canada is drawing on its strategic reserves

by Rex Daniel
Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, a leading trading group, said they were freeing about 50 million pounds from their strategic maple syrup reserves, nearly half of the inventory. Bloomberg first reported.

The government-backed organization, which is often referred to as the maple syrup OPEC, uses its reserves to control the prices and supply of syrup. In 2020, Quebec produced 73% of all maple syrup in the world, and its biggest customer by far is the United States, which represents about 60% of Canada’s export volume.

The strategic reserve was created to keep maple syrup in stock during bad harvest seasons or when demand increases. This is the case at the moment following a hot and short spring which led to a drop in yields. Historically, 2021 was an average year for maple syrup production in Quebec, with an estimated harvest of 133 million pounds, but sales increased by 21% compared to last year, straining the available supply.

QMSP did not immediately respond to CNN Business’s requests for comment. “The pandemic has helped in our case because we are seeing people cooking more at home and using more local products,” group spokeswoman Hélène Normandin said in an interview with Bloomberg. It is not just in Quebec that demand is increasing.

The reserve has made headlines in the past. Between 2011 and 2012, 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup, valued at nearly C $ 20 million, was secretly siphoned off the reserve in a notorious theft known as the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist.

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