In the face of a shortage, Canada draws on its emergency maple syrup reserves

Key takeaways:

• Global supply shortages have impacted toy stores in the United States and coffee producers in Brazil.
• The shortage was driven by increased demand and a shorter harvest, according to QMSP.
• Thieves stole approximately 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup worth an estimated $18 million (£13.6 million) in 2012. 

Toy Stores in the United States and coffee producers in Brazil have been affected by global supply shortages. The country’s liquid gold, maple syrup, is low in Canada.

The Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (QMSP), the so-called Opec of maple syrup, has released nearly half of its emergency reserve, or 22 million kilograms.

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The shortage was driven by increased demand and a shorter harvest, according to QMSP.

It’s the first time the reserve has been used in three years.

“That is why the reserve is created: to ensure that you never run out of maple syrup. We won’t miss the maple syrup, either!” QMSP’s Helene Normandin spoke to public radio in the United States.

Quebec, Canada’s Francophone province, generates about three-quarters of maple syrup produced worldwide.

According to QMSP, 183 million kilograms of maple syrup were produced worldwide in 2021, with 60 million kilograms coming from Quebec’s woodlands. The QMSP is already planning for next year’s harvest, including an additional 7 million trees.

Maple sap is collected straight from sugar maple trees and concentrated into maple syrup boiling.

It’s tedious work that is extremely reliant on the weather. Maple trees are tapped only when the temperature is above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. This year’s supply was reduced by approximately a quarter due to a shorter and warmer season.

At the same time, global maple syrup sales increased by more than 36% year over year, according to QMSP.

Sugar thievery has previously been linked to the worldwide demand for Quebec’s maple syrup.

Thieves stole approximately 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup worth an estimated $18 million (£13.6 million) in 2012. Two-thirds of the syrup that had been stolen was eventually found.

Source: BBC News

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