The PPAQ expects Quebec's strategic reserve to be fully used by the end of February 2027. The remaining stock is already sold and will be delivered to buyers before then.
Buyers' inventories grew by more than 35 million pounds, about 16 million kilograms, according to the association. Government data show US exports rose 17 percent between 2024 and 2025.
Dealers' stocks are well filled, so no immediate supply gap is expected. A poor 2027 harvest could make syrup scarcer and more expensive without the reserve.
On 19 October 2026, Luc Goulet, president of the producers' association PPAQ, told a press conference that Quebec's strategic maple syrup reserve had reached zero. The association now expects the reserve to be fully used by the end of February 2027. The remaining stock has already been sold and will be delivered to buyers before then, a spokesperson said. Canada supplies about three quarters of the world's maple syrup, and government figures for 2025 put Quebec at 90 percent of Canadian output. The reserve exists to keep prices and supply steady when harvests swing.
US demand is the main driver. US customers stocked up last year during the tariff dispute between Washington and Ottawa, buying before announced duties could make imports more expensive, the Canadian Press reported. The association estimates buyers' inventories grew by more than 35 million pounds, roughly 16 million kilograms. Government data show exports to the United States rose 17 percent between 2024 and 2025, after a strong increase the year before Donald Trump took office. The United States takes more than 60 percent of Canadian maple syrup exports, with Germany second at just over 7 percent. The current price agreement was in its final year in 2026, and buyers reportedly bought heavily ahead of any upward revision.
Data from the article text
Output depends heavily on the weather, SRF economics editor Klaus Ammann said. A good harvest needs frosty nights followed by mild days, and conditions in Canada were unfavorable last year. Even so, the 2026 harvest was the second best in the industry's history, and demand outpaced it. Simon Doré-Ouellet, deputy director of the PPAQ, said:
“A good production year in 2027 would be welcome, even though we have little control over it.”
Dealers' stocks are well filled, so the association does not expect an immediate shortage. Without the reserve, however, the industry has no buffer against a bad crop, and a poor spring 2027 harvest could make syrup scarcer and more expensive.
Louis Turenne, president of the Conseil de l'industrie de l'érable, wants faster access to European, Australian and Asian markets to reduce the industry's dependence on the United States. He also believes the Quebec government could get involved. The Quebec industry employs 10,000 people and supplies 70 percent of the maple syrup consumed worldwide. Luc Goulet argues that without maple farming, some villages might as well close.
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The producers' association PPAQ expects Quebec's strategic maple syrup reserve to be fully used by the end of February 2027. The remaining stock is already sold, buyers' inventories are full, and no immediate shortage is expected.
AI text based on reports by SRF News, Xataka, Courrier international and other publishers. Published .