Canada’s maple syrup reserve will run dry by February, operator says

Quebec Maple Syrup Producers forecasts that Canada’s strategic maple syrup reserve will be empty by February 2027, Fortune said on October 24. The stockpile provides stored syrup when weather disrupts production. Exhausting it would remove that protection, although new syrup would continue to be made.

Simon Doré-Ouellet, the organisation’s deputy general manager, told the Toronto Star that market supply was secure for the coming year, even though unfavourable weather could disrupt the production season.

Canada accounted for more than 75% of global maple syrup production in 2025, and Quebec supplied 90% of Canadian output. The reserve consists of three warehouses in Quebec that can hold about 218,000 barrels; that is their capacity, not the amount currently stored.

Exports grew while production fell

Canadian syrup exports jumped nearly 16% in 2025, while production fell 5%. Fortune attributed the export surge to US buyers stocking up ahead of anticipated tariffs.

Demand has also spread beyond the United States. About 65% of Canadian syrup exports go to the US, down from 80% two decades earlier, as producers have expanded into other markets.

More taps, but a weather-dependent harvest

Doré-Ouellet said Quebec had increased production capacity by 50% over six years. The expansion represents more than 21 million new taps—points where producers collect sap from maple trees. More collection capacity could help replenish the reserve in a good season, but output still depends heavily on the weather.

Doré-Ouellet said the reserve would need replenishing over the next few years and that a good production year in 2027 would be welcome, while acknowledging how little control producers have over that outcome.