Canada’s maple syrup industry has become an international focus in recent days, with headlines shouting that the country has been forced to tap into its strategic reserve to make up for shortages.
Quebec produces about 73 per cent of the all maple syrup in the world. And the Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (QMSP), an organization that governs the province’s maple syrup producers, has said it will release about 22.7 million kilograms of maple syrup from its strategic reserve into the market by February.
For some, the headlines may have been an eye-opener that Canada even has a stockpile of maple syrup. CBC Explains the purpose of this reserve, why it had to be tapped into, and explores whether there was ever a shortage of maple syrup.
What is the strategic reserve?
Quebec’s maple syrup industry is subject to a supply-management system, meaning it employs a quota system run by the QMSP which dictates market volume. The QMSP also controls the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve, which can hold more than 45 million kilograms of maple syrup.
The reserve was created in 2000 to keep syrup in stock and ensure a constant supply for national and international markets, regardless of the size of the harvest, Hélène Normandin, a spokeswoman for QMSP told CBC’s As It Happens.
One site, the Laurierville Plant and Warehouse, in the Centre-du-Québec region, covers an area of 24,805 square metres – the equivalent of five football fields. That site alone can store 25 million kilograms of maple syrup, or 94,000 barrels.
When properly stored in barrels, maple syrup can last for many years, said Michael Farrell, the former director of Cornell University’s Uihlein Forest, a maple syrup research and extension field station in Lake Placid, N.Y.
In years when the yield is good, and more syrup is produced than needed, the extra can be sold to the QMSP and stored “so that when there’s bad years, you have enough to keep people stocked up with syrup on their pancakes,” Farrell said.
“Without this in reserve [this year], there would be much less syrup up on store shelves, and the price would be much higher.”
Why did they have to tap into the reserve this year?
In 2021, there was about 60 million kilograms of maple syrup produced, an average amount when compared to past years but down 18 million kilograms compared to 2020.
In this photo, a harvester taps a maple tree. Quebec’s maple syrup industry is subject to a supply management system, meaning it employs a quota system run by the QMSP which dictates market volume. (CBC)
“It was an average season, not bad, but not as big as the two last seasons — 2019 and 2020 were just amazing, wonderful years of production,” Normandin said.
However, worldwide demand has increased by more than 20 per cent — a spike industry experts believe was partly fuelled by more people cooking at home during the pandemic — and that has strained the supply
How did the weather affect the yield?
Not every year is a perfect year for every agricultural harvest. And this was one of those years which was not ideal in terms of maple syrup production, said Abby van den Berg, a research associate professor at the University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center in Underhill, Vt.
Many places didn’t have good weather for sap flow until later in the production season, she said.
In order for sap to flow, there has to be freezing temperatures, followed by above-freezing temperatures, she said.
“There just weren’t that many sap flow days,” Van den Berg said.
Was there really a ‘shortage’ of syrup.
‘Canada tapping reserve maple syrup supply amid shortage’
‘Facing shortages, Canada taps its strategic reserve of maple syrup’
It was headlines like those that made Van den Berg bristle, she said.
“We had a year where the harvest was not super. It actually wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t as good as it had been in past years, and the reserve was there to perform its function,” she said. “And there was no disruption in supply. There is no shortage.”
“All of the headlines said ‘maple syrup shortage,'” she said. “And literally, there is no shortage because of the reserve.”
Jugs of maple syrup line a shelf. In 2021, there was about 60 million kilograms of maple syrup produced, an average amount when compared to past years but down 40 million pounds compared to 2020. (Hallie Cotnam/CBC)
Philippe Charest-Beudry, the owner of Ste-Anne-de-la-Rochelle, Que.-based Brien Maple Sweets, which packages and sells bottles of maple syrup, said his company has been able to fill every contract so far this year.
“I’ve not heard in the industry other players that we’re not able to meet contracts,” he said.
Has the reserve ever run into trouble with its stock?
Between 2011 and and 2012 around 3,000 tonnes were stolen from a storage facility in Quebec. But it was a few years earlier than that when the strategic reserve actually did run dry.
“People probably don’t remember, but in 2008, after two or three years in a row of bad production, just bad weather, [they] ran out of syrup in the reserve,” said Mike Farrell
“There was nothing there and there wasn’t enough syrup to go around. Prices spiked. We lost a lot of markets for pure maple syrup,”he said.
A tree is tapped for maple syrup harvest. Many places didn’t have good weather for sap flow until later in the production season, said Abby van den Berg, a research associate professor at the University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center in Underhill, Vt. (CBC)
Ray Bonenberg, former president of the International Maple Syrup Institute and a maple syrup producer near Pembroke, Ont., said 2008 was an “awful year in production.”
“It was abnormally cold until April 1st and then it got really warm, and I know my season was like eight days so it was disastrous,” he said. “The reserve was right down to the bottom, and has been building it up.”
What does this mean for next year?
Farrell said the 22.7 million kilograms of maple syrup represents a “significant amount to take out the reserve this year.” But what does that mean for the near future of the reserve?
There are currently around 50 million maple syrup taps in Quebec. In July, the QMSP approved the issuance of seven million new ones to meet the demand.
“From our perspective, we believe it should solve the issue on the short term basis,” said Charest-Beudry, “I don’t see a season next year where there’s no more maple syrup in the grocery store.”
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
