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  •  Helene Normandin of the Quebec maple producers federation is interviewed by Kerry Sanders of the NBC Today Show on Nov. 30 about the so-called “syrup shortage."

  •  The Quebec federation’s Strategic Reserve near Montreal is filled with barrels, some 10 years old. The reserve has been drained by 50 million pounds in 2021, to cover the short crop in the United States. But federation officials stressed that there is

  •  Cory Ayotte of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association was featured in the national broadcast on NBC’s Today Show on Nov. 30. in their coverage of the Canadian syrup “shortage.” Ayotte took the opportunity to tell viewers that consumer demand for

Canada still has syrup despite reports in national media

50 million pounds left in Strategic Reserve

By PETER GREGG | DECEMBER 1, 2021



LONGUEIL, Que—Don’t believe the hype.
 
A flurry of national news reports this week—including on NBC’s Today Show broadcast yesterday—proclaimed there is a shortage of Canadian syrup.
 
Not true, says the Quebec maple producers federation.
 
“There’s no shortage at all,” said Helene Normandin, spokeswoman for the Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.
 
That’s not to say that syrup hasn’t been moving.  In fact, it’s selling like hotcakes.
 
The federation’s Strategic Reserve has been drained of 50 million pounds since the beginning of this year, most of it sold in the United States, which had its worst crop in 10 years.
 
But there is still another 50 million pounds left in the warehouses near Montreal that make up the Reserve, Normandin said.
 
“We still have half of it,” she said.
 
She could not account for the percentage of the reserve that was table grade, but was very confident there was enough syrup to last until the new 2022 season starts.  There was zero amounts of organic syrup left, however.
 
As for the media coverage of the so-called Canadian “shortage,” which also appeared on CNN, the New York Post, the BBC and many other big news outlets, Normandin could not explain the sudden interest.
 
“I can say some media are fascinated with the reserve,” Normandin said.
 
Meanwhile, the overall maple industry is white hot.
 
In the U.S. market, there actually seems to be a shortage, or at least it has been hard to find syrup in large quantities of U.S. produced syrup.  The sugarmaker to sugarmaker market in the U.S. is running dry, with most producers nearing the end of their 2021 crop.
 
Bruce Bascom of Bascom Maple Farms in Alstead, N.H. and one of the biggest bulk buyers in the nation is currently paying upwards of $2.60 per pound, with another 20 cent premium for organic.
 
Still, he did not seem worried about getting through the holiday season or carrying over to next season since he is one of the big buyers of the Canadian reserve.
 
There will be enough syrup to get to new crop for anyone that needs more,” he told The Maple News.
 
Supplies are also worrying producers as they prepare for a new season just 10 weeks away or so.
 
Last month’s report on the shortage of Diatomaceous earth created a run on the filter aid at most supply houses. 
 
Generic glass has also been hard to find.
 
Sugarmaker David Yeany of Yeany’s Maple in Marienville, Pa. told The Maple News that he has been desperate to find generic glass containers, particularly in gallon sizes.
 
He’s been scouring www.MapleTrader.com and other internet sites to find glass to fill his orders.
 
“I drove three hours one way just to get 15 cases the other day so I wouldn’t run out,” Yeany said.
 
But at Artisan Printing of Vermont in Cambridge, Vt. owner Bill Laporte says he has plenty of printed glass containers to fill orders.
 
He said his printed glass business is up 60 percent over last year.
 
“Tell people to call us,” he said.