Quebec turns up the maple syrup taps amid internal revolt, foreign competition
MONTREAL — Quebec, the world’s largest producer of maple syrup, is ramping up output as it fends off rising competition from the U.S. and neighbouring provinces as well as a farmer rebellion from within.
The province is adding five million taps over the next two years to its existing 43 million spigots. Simon Trepanier, executive director of the Quebec Maple Syrup Federation, says that is intended to satisfy a growing appetite for the natural sugar, which is increasingly being used as an ingredient in food and drinks.
“We allowed those new taps to fulfil the demand and make sure that Quebec is still producing and being part of the expansion of the market right now,” Trepanier says.
More than 90 per cent of the record 73 million kilograms of maple syrup made in Canada last year was tapped in Quebec, according to Statistics Canada. Yet the province’s near-monopoly over the maple syrup market is loosening.