Enjoy your maple syrup while you can folks, our national liquid gold is running low!

" There’s a global maple syrup shortage, and Canada has tapped into its emergency reserves " 

"The great maple syrup shortage of 2021 is upon us, and Canada is taking serious measures. 

Quebec’s annual maple syrup harvest—which is responsible for the majority of the world’s supply—is lower than last year’s.

That’s why Quebec’s maple syrup producers have turned to their emergency supply for the first time in three years. 

“There were 100 million pounds in the reserve last spring. We estimate that by the time the next season begins in early 2022, about less than half of the stockpile will still be there,”  QMSP spokesperson Helene Normandin told Fortune

Quebec provides 72% of the world’s maple syrup. This year alone, the world produced 182 million pounds of maple syrup, and Quebec accounted for 133 million of those pounds.

But this year’s spring season, during which trees are tapped for their sap, was warmer than normal. For the trees to provide syrup, the weather needs to be just above freezing during the day, and below freezing at night. Production of maple syrup in 2021 dropped by about 42 million pounds from last year’s record high of 175 million pounds, according to the QMSP.

“In 2021, an early thaw caused the sap to start flowing at the same time across the province, and unusually warm temperatures in April brought the harvest season to an abrupt halt. Maple producers are at the mercy of Mother Nature,” the QMSP said in a statement earlier this month. 

(Fortune, Kylie Logan)

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