Quebec is heading towards a record year for maple syrup production. The early spring gave maple syrup producers a cold sweat, who ultimately got away with it.
The quantity of syrup produced in 2024 has already exceeded that of last year (9.4 million gallons), according to a spokesperson for the Quebec Syrup Producers. And the season is not over.
“With two more weeks of production and if the weather holds, yes, we are breaking another record,” enthusiastically says Justin Plourde, president of the Bas-Saint-Laurent–Gaspésie maple producers’ union. “This week is shaping up to be a great week, next week too…I think it’s going to be a phenomenal season. »
Usually, for him, the sugaring season lasts from mid-March to early May. However, this year, the maple trees began delivering their sugar water at the end of February, three weeks earlier than usual. These extra days of harvest fill sugar shack owners with happiness. “It’s a bit like a second spring,” adds this master sugar maker from Témiscouata. “We have abundance, but also quality. The syrup is good from the first drop. »
The mild winter of 2023-2024 has not only lengthened the sugar season. It also made the work of maple producers easier. They normally have to deal with several feet of snow at their sugar bush and travel there on snowshoes or snowmobiles to dig out the tubing buried under layers of ice. The scarcity of snow cover allowed them to avoid this difficult work this year. “Working in the forest was easy thanks to that,” assures Justin Plourde, who can testify to the conditions in the forest both in Bas-Saint-Laurent and in Gaspésie.
In the four corners of Quebec
After the disappointing 2023 harvest and the very high temperatures of last February, maple syrup producers feared a second sugar season that would be too short for their liking. The cold ultimately never set in and the flows continue until today, both in the north and in the south of Quebec.
There remains about a week of sugaring time at Pierre Cormier’s maple grove in Dunham, near the border with the United States. “It’s a very good year. Out of 25 years, this is my third or fourth best year,” he says. “ [À la grandeur du Québec], it’s going to be a record, that’s for sure. »
Nothing suggested such a scenario. The mercury approached 15 degrees Celsius in February, and there were fears of having to quickly turn off the taps. But in the end, the trees never stopped supplying their precious liquid. Pierre Cormier is also delighted with the appearance of a “second spring”, which allows the extraction of maple sap over a longer period. A season that starts early and ends late, “it’s a bit of the best of both worlds,” notes the experienced maple producer.
In Chaudière-Appalaches, where almost half of Quebec’s production is concentrated, “we are in line for a record season”, also confirms Francis Roy, president of the Beauce maple producers’ union. “We thought we would have a spring that ended early, but we have everything for a record spring. Mother Nature is very generous. » The taste is there as much as the yield, according to him. Average production is five pounds per tap, while “we expect six pounds per tap” this year. ” Everybody is happy. »
The total production of maple syrup has grown year after year in Quebec since the turn of the millennium, although the volume produced varies greatly from one season to the next. Some 8,000 companies tapped maple trees in Quebec this spring, an increase of 739 compared to last year.
No effect on price
This good season will, however, have no impact on the price of canned syrup, because this is fixed through a form of supply management. The floor price for golden syrup is set at $3.29 per pound, or nearly $5.50 for a 540 milliliter can. The difference between this price and that observed in stores is attributable to the share of processors, distributors and retailers.
Turbulence could have hit this balanced market if the flows had been as distressing this year as in 2023. Because the “strategic reserve” of maple syrup, which ensures a constant supply and independent of the scale of the harvests, was almost dry. There are currently only 6.9 million pounds left in stock, the result of a strong international appetite for maple syrup and recent low production. The ideal level of this strategic reserve is established at 100 million pounds.
The 2024 vintage syrup will therefore make it possible to replenish these “strategic” warehouses, although the association of Quebec maple producers estimates that it will take another five years before supplies return to the desired volume.
The final results of this year’s maple syrup production will be known in May or June. Until then, maple syrup producers are knocking on wood so that the weather continues to blow hot and cold in their favor.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.