A flagship of Quebec gastronomy like poutine, maple syrup is capsizing. The national institute Statistics Canada has sounded the alarm. Production of golden nectar fell by 40% in 2023. “At the moment, in our main markets, the decline in sales is significant. In Europe, the drop is 25%. In Japan, it’s more than 25% and in the United States, it’s between 15% and 20%,” the director of the Maple Industry Council, Jean, told the newspaper La Terre de chez nous. -Marc Lavoie.
Quebec is the world’s main exporter of maple syrup and 75% of the precious liquid, which Quebecers call blond gold, is produced there. The industry has 8,000 maple producers (syrup producers), 12,600 full-time equivalent jobs and contributes $1.1 billion to Canadian GDP each year.
Experts cite the impact of climate change to explain the collapse. Others point to the high prices of syrup and competition from cheaper substitutes to justify the disenchantment, as well as outdated marketing. The cliché of a horse in a snowy maple grove has lived on. This is a serious time, because maple syrup is one of the pillars of Canadian culture.
A legend has it that in ancient times a squirrel bit a maple branch and began to drink the water. Seeing the animal, an Indian imitated it. Over the centuries, the powerful have adopted the sweet liquid. During a visit to Ottawa, Barack Obama enjoyed a beavertail (donut) drizzled with maple syrup. The New York Times once described Quebec as the “OPEC of maple syrup.”