No Taps to be Issued in 2023
Over the course of the past few weeks, the Board of Directors of Québec Maple Syrup Producers (QMSP) came to the decision to not issue new start-up or expansion taps in 2023. Some of the deciding factors are as follows: the exceptional 2022 harvest (over 211 million pounds); the increase in buyers’ private inventories; the volumes ordered by processors, and; the 5.5 million taps scheduled to go into production over the new two seasons.
The Règlement sur le contingentement des producteurs et productrices acéricoles requires QMSP to consider the following factors in the issuance of new taps:
- the current year’s total quota and adjustments made in accordance with Articles 30 and 31
- the sales agency’s sales as well as its forecasts for coming years
- the level of inventory in the Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve
- the actuarial assessment of the strategic stock to allow a constant supply to markets at reasonable prices, independent of harvest level
- the annual yield for the current marketing year
- the actual production of taps allocated in previous years
- the stock level of authorized buyers
- the opinion of the Conseil de l’industrie de l’érable.
While the information available at this time suggests the Reserve’s stocks will increase this year, rest assured that Management and the Board of Directors will continue to monitor the various pertinent economic indicators over the coming months.