The maples are flowing, the boilers are heating up at full speed, the sugaring off season is well underway and looks much more productive than last year, affected by much too early hot weather. That’s good, since the industry must replenish its strategic reserve of maple syrup, which has been in extraordinary demand over the past two years due to the explosion in global demand.
Posted at 6:30 a.m.
Like hundreds of thousands of consumers around the world, I love maple syrup. I use it to sweeten my coffee, to reduce the acidity of the tomato in my spaghetti sauce, in my marinades for grilled pork, chicken or beef, in short, I’m not bad in syrup, 12 months out of 12.
This love of maple syrup is not exclusive, it is contagious and obviously knows no borders since Quebec syrup sales have increased by more than 20% per year over the past two years, after maintaining a annual increase of 5 to 8% over the previous decade.
A little reminder here. Quebec is the main producer of maple syrup in the world, providing 72% of world production. Last year, world production reached 182 million pounds and Quebec alone produced 133 million.
The catch is that Quebec sales alone totaled 180 million pounds, far more than the disappointing harvest of 133 million pounds in 2021. Quebec producers had to dip into their strategic reserve of 100 million pounds to meet global demand.
“The 2021 harvest was modest, 133 million pounds compared to 159 million in 2020,” observes Serge Beaulieu, president of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SERGE BEAULIEU
Serge Beaulieu, President of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers
The harvest in the American Northeast was also disappointing and we had to sell them 20 million pounds of our reserve to compensate for their loss of earnings, in addition to our usual exports to the United States.
Serge Beaulieu, President of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers
Quebec maple syrup exports totaled more than $800 million last year, nearly 60% of which went to the United States, the rest being sold in more than 50 countries, mainly in Europe, Australia and Asia.
“There are not many Quebec biofood products that have recorded annual increases of 5 to 8% for ten years and which have jumped by 20% over the past two years,” says Serge Beaulieu, owner with his brother and their sons from a 30,000-tap maple grove in Ormstown, Montérégie.
The benefits of the strategic reserve
The explosion in popularity of amber gold (it trades at $1,500 a barrel, need we point out) is not without consequences. The global strategic reserve of Quebec maple syrup, which was 100 million pounds, has now increased to 35 million pounds.
“We are giving ourselves four to five years to rebuild our strategic reserve and that is why we have decided to allow the addition of 7 million new taps this year to increase our production, which should generate an additional 25 million pounds.
More than half of these new taps will be assigned to our 7,300 existing businesses and the rest will be shared among 1,300 new producers who will start their own business.
Serge Beaulieu, President of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers
At the head of the Federation of Maple Syrup Producers for 13 years, Serge Beaulieu will not be running for a new term this year. Active for more than 30 years in the regional producers’ union, he observes that the industry is well equipped to face the reality of the markets.
“In the early 1980s I was selling my syrup at $3 a pound, then in the early 1990s it went down to 85 cents a pound. Since we set up the strategic reserve, 20 years ago, we have stabilized the price differentials. When we produce too much, we put it in the reserve and when the demand is too high, we sell our surpluses,” he explains.
While COVID-19 contributed to an explosion of 20% in demand on the world market during the years 2020 and 2021, we observe for the first two months of 2022 a further increase of 10%.
Should the industry take advantage of this popularity to further enhance this unique resource, prized by a growing number of consumers, in particular by introducing appellations contrôlées, with a grand cru from Centre-du-Québec or a special Cabano cuvée ?
Serge Beaulieu explains that there is no great distinction in syrup quality between regions. When he boils his syrup, however, he realizes that the quality peaks when he gets to the middle of production, at the 15and day of the thirties that the process lasts. But the ordinary consumer would not see a big difference.
“Some stores in Japan will sell it for $100 a gallon, but consumers can find the same product at their local Japanese Costco for a much better price. Our buyers could indeed seek to promote certain categories of products, but we also want our syrup to remain accessible,” emphasizes Serge Beaulieu.
That said, the boiling season ends this weekend at Serge Beaulieu’s Ormstown sugar bush as in those of all of western Quebec, while it only begins in Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie. , the largest producing region in Quebec. And the flow is good.
“Last year, we collected an average of 2.5 lbs of syrup per tap, whereas here, we’re more at 5.3 lbs of syrup per tap. It’s going to be a good year,” anticipates the maple syrup producer, which should reassure major consumers and allow the gradual reconstitution of the global strategic reserve.