Quebec could lose the war, maple syrup

Marie-Eve Dumont

Thursday, march 8, 2018 12:40

UPDATE
Thursday, march 8, 2018 22:53

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Quebec could lose its status as the world leader in maple syrup for the benefit of competitors such as the United States continues to voluntarily limit its production, according to the Montreal economic Institute.

Imports of maple syrup in Quebec, which mainly come from the United States, are in ” explosion “, with a record-breaking year in 2016 by $20 million.

A finding that is of concern to Alexander Moreau, analyst in public policy, the Montreal economic Institute (MEI).

Why import so much? Among other things because in Quebec, producers are assigned a maximum number of taps to collect the maple water. They, therefore, have a specified quantity for wholesale and intermediaries (grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants).

The surplus must go to one of the 60 authorized purchasers by the Federation of Quebec maple syrup producers, who sell and export the product.

“This is not a system that is viable in a global economy. Producers outside Quebec have no constraints. While we limit the production, they have the field open and we are stealing market share. The trend is worrisome, ” claims Alexandre Moreau.

In constant decline

Quebec has lost market share since the implementation of the current system, in 2004. It fell from a peak of 82 % in 2003 to 72 % in 2017, insists Mr. Moreau.

“Even though Quebec has a significant share of the world production of syrup, one finds oneself in a situation where it is in constant decline, and this coincides with the implementation of the quota system “, he adds.

Mr. Moreau also cites the example of the number of taps permits, which increased by only 17 % since 2004, whereas there was an increase of 89 % in the United States.

“The idea is not to abolish the Federation’s [Federation of Quebec maple syrup producers], but there are producers that are not found in the system. They want to develop their own market. It would be necessary to leave them the choice to join or not join the Federation, ” said Mr. Moreau.

In Quebec, the syrup producers who have been active for several years to change the system, have welcomed the conclusions of the MEI.

Photo courtesy

Daniel Gaudreau and Nathalie Bombardier would like to sell the syrup from the sugar bush (behind them) as they see fit, without quota. The torque of the Estrie region is pursued by the Federation for failing to comply with the standards.

“Finally, another voice, an independent, explains with numbers true what they are trying to demonstrate. It is just a non-sense of having to fight to be entrepreneurs, so that everyone else can do it, ” points out Nathalie Bombardier, farmers that continued with the Federation for having sold the syrup, over-quota.

“Deplorable “

The director-general of the Federation of Quebec maple syrup producers described as “deplorable vision” of the situation set by the MEI.

“There are 675 new companies, maple syrup in the last 10 years, whereas in agriculture it speaks more often of a decline in the number of farms. Since 2000, he has added more nicks in Quebec than there are in total in the United States, ” says Simon Trépanier.

It explains the large number of imports in 2016 by the need for processors to include syrup american in order to be able to sell in the United States, and by the shortage of syrup organic this year.

“We also forget to say that 2017 is the fourth record year in canadian exports of maple, it is 101 million pounds that have gone into 50 countries of the world,” says Mr. Trépanier.