Maple syrup shortfall not a worry, but weather might be, says Windsor area producer

A maple syrup producer east of Windsor says the season on his farm is going pretty well despite the fact the Québec Maple Syrup Producers are dipping into reserves to meet global demand for the sweet stuff.

Rob Nadeau, of Ruscom North Shore Farms, said the syrup reserve is serving its purpose, and using some of its rainy day stocks to fill the need.

"That reserve is made just for that reason," he said.

He said in an average year, Quebec producers would get about 175 million pounds of syrup, but according to the producers' website, they only managed about 130 million pounds this year.

The organization governing Quebec's maple syrup producers will release about 50 million pounds of maple syrup — worth about $150 million — onto the market by February, Helene Normandin, the group's spokesperson, said in an interview with the Canadian Press Monday.

The reserve can hold up to 100 million pounds of maple syrup, she said.

Nadeau said this part of Ontario managed to avoid the weather conditions that disrupted the production season that has now affected supplies.

"So this year in some particular areas in Quebec and in Ontario, particularly in Ontario, got shut down really quick where they had two or three weeks instead of a four to five, six-week season," he said.

"But because here where we're at in this climate, if we tap early enough and the freeze stays on long enough like we always had so far, we get four or five weeks and so we can get our full amount. So it's going good so far."