Quotas for Expansion of an Existing Maple Enterprise
In May 2023, Québec Maple Syrup Producers announced the issuance of 7 million new taps, which must be installed by April 1, 2026.
The Expansion element of this issuance allocates quotas to people or companies in current possession of quotas. Successful applicants must, within 3 marketing years of acceptance, add up to 10,000 taps to their production unit outside of the operating perimeter identified in the maple syrup production plans for which they hold their current quotas, or on a production unit of which they are or will become owners, or the lessees or beneficiaries of operating permits on public land, in accordance with Paragraphs 1 – 4 of Article 41 of the Règlement sur le contingentement des producteurs et productrices acéricoles.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the previous paragraph, a person or company that has been accepted for a Young Entrepreneur or Start-Up quota on private land is also eligible for an Expansion quota for the following year, even if operation of the production unit has not yet begun. For the purposes of applying the provisions relating to the allocation of an Expansion quota set out in Article 62 and articles thereafter, such a person or company is considered a quota holder.
A quota holder may qualify for an Expansion quota by sending QMSP—no later than September 15—a document similar to the form reproduced in Appendix 10, duly completed and stating the number of taps requested. It must also indicate the producer’s chosen method of allocation, either in tranches of 200 taps or by random draw for the entirety of taps requested. The documents stipulated in Paragraphs 1 – 4 of Article 41 must be attached to the form.
Expansion Application Form (in french only)
Landowner Identification Form (in french only)
Frequently Asked Questions about the Issuance of 7 Million New Taps (in french only)
Appendix 2: Forest Engineer’s Form – Maple Syrup Production Plan (in french only)
Allocation of Quotas
If there are sufficient taps, QMSP allocates Expansion quotas to all quota holders eligible under the provisions of the Règlement’s Article 63. If the number of available taps is not sufficient to fill all applications, taps will be shared among applicants who chose distribution by tranche and those who chose distribution by random draw, according to the percentage of eligible applications received for each method, out of all qualifying Expansion applications. QMSP allocates Expansion quotas by tranche and by draw in accordance with the second and third paragraphs of Article 58.
Terms and Conditions
Expansion quota applicants not selected in the random draw allocation may submit the same application in each consecutive draw.
QMSP will inform producers of the decision regarding their applications by January 31.
If a producer fails to comply with the conditions set out in Articles 35.1 to 37 of the Règlement, QMSP will give 30-days notice and, unless satisfactory explanations are received within that time, will withdraw the quota issuance or quota, and notify the producer accordingly. In such cases, the producer will not be eligible to apply for an Expansion quota until between a period of 5 years and the next issuance of such quotas, whichever is later.