(Ottawa) Quebec’s maple syrup production collapsed by 41.3% this year compared to that of 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reports that record production was recorded last year.
The drop in Quebec production roughly corresponds to the 40.1% drop observed this year in Canada as a whole. In 2023, Canadian maple producers harvested 10.4 million gallons of maple syrup.
Maple production declined in all maple syrup-producing provinces, with Quebec being, by far, the largest producer in Canada.
Quebec alone supplied 9.4 million gallons of the 10.4 million gallons of maple syrup produced in 2023. This was the lowest level recorded in Quebec since 2018.
Statistics Canada explains that production has tipped this year, in large part, due to unfavorable weather conditions, including violent storms and temperature fluctuations. In Quebec, the ice storm that occurred at the end of spring led to a drop in harvests and production losses for many producers.
Compared to 2022, Ontario maple producers reported a 14.9% drop in production to 502,000 gallons in 2023. New Brunswick also showed a drop in production, by 35% in one year, due to a drop in harvests linked to poor weather conditions.
Statistics Canada reports that Canadian maple producers exported 7.7 million gallons of maple products during the first three quarters of 2023, down 8.7% from the same period in 2022.
