LAURIERVILLE, Quebec — The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (FPAQ) announced that it will expand its plant/warehouse in Laurierville by an additional 32,000 sq. ft., for a total surface area of 267,000 sq. ft.

The expansion comes just two years after the official opening of the facility in October 2013. The additional warehouse space, a $2 million investment by Quebec maple syrup producers, should be ready for its first barrels of syrup by the end of the 2016 sugar season.

Owned by Quebec’s 13,500 maple syrup producers, the Laurierville facility in central Quebec’s regional county municipality of L’Érable is used to collect, pasteurize, and store millions of pounds of syrup destined for the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve. Thanks to the reserve, the industry and consumers worldwide have access to a constant, fairly priced supply of maple products, regardless of how generous—or stingy—Mother Nature may be.

Upon completion, FPAQ’s 267,000 square foot facility will have space for 98 million pounds of maple syrup. This represents 165,000 forty-five-gallon barrels—the equivalent of 13 Olympic-size pools. The reserve currently holds 62 million pounds, stored at three different sites.

“We’re proud of the facility we built in 2013, which enables us to pasteurize and stockpile maple syrup in order to offset the significant impact that annual variations in production could have on prices,” said FPAQ president Serge Beaulieu. “With today’s announcement of this $2 million investment, financed entirely by Quebec maple syrup producers, we’ll have the capacity to respond to growing international demand for maple products and the steady increase in production.”

Canadian maple product exports hit a historic high in 2014, with more than 84 million pounds shipped to over 53 countries. FPAQ’s sales agency also set a new record, with 100 million pounds sold. 

Since 2010, agency sales have increased by 14.2% annually, and exports by 4.2%. Over the past three years, the Quebec maple syrup industry has contributed some $800 million annually to the Canadian economy, primarily in producer regions.

Originally published in The Maple News in January 2016