LONGUEUIL, Que.—Quebec’s maple harvest totaled 124 million pounds, with an average per-tap production of 2.43 pounds, the Quebec maple federeation said.

 

It’s the smallest crop in five years, off dramatically from the 211 million pounds from last year.

 

In reaction, Québec Maple Syrup Producers (QMSP) last month announced it will be adding another 7 million taps into its production quota system. 

 

These 7 million new taps must be installed by April 1, 2026.

 

By that time, Québec will have a total of 58 million taps in production, the federation said.

 

Meanwhile, the Global Maple Syrup Strategic Reserve currently holds 33 million pounds, most of it table grade. About 2.5 million of it is processing.

 

Buyers and processors also possess an estimated 65 million pounds of inventory, the Quebec federation said. 

 

In all, the federation said it sold 179 million pounds of maple syrup in 2022. More than 60 percent of its exports of syrup ends up in the United States.

 

The Quebec Maple Syrup Producers federation said there is plenty of syrup in the federation warehouses to handle consumer demand.

 

“We are confident that the stocks of the strategic maple syrup reserve and those of buyers and processors will be sufficient to meet the demand for maple products in 2023,” said Joël Vaudeville, the federation’s director of communications.