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Canada taps maple syrup reserves to prevent shortage

QUEBEC, Canada — To prevent shortages, Canada’s largest maple syrup cartel announced plans to release approximately 50 million pounds of syrup from its strategic reserves, CNN reported.

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The Quebec Maple Syrup Producers is an organization, supported by Canada’s government, which represents more than 11,000 producers of more than 133 million pounds of maple syrup, said it has the world’s only reserve of maple syrup. It was created to protect both buyers and sellers from the unpredictability of the industry, which is heavily reliant on weather conditions.

Quebec produces nearly 70% of the world’s maple syrup supply, but weather over the last year forced a drop in production even as global sales jumped, NPR reported.

Similar weather patterns in the United States caused lower production as well, and growers in the U.S. said releasing the reserves from Quebec will help stabilize the U.S. market as well, The Washington Post reported.

The Quebec Maple Syrup Producers announced in July a program expanding to tap 7 million more trees in the next year, to hopefully replenish the reserves and meet future demand.