Five large-scale producers are under particularly tight
watch because they have been caught marketing outside of the supply-management
system.
In one case, the marketing board has hired a security
company to post watchers around the clock, and is billing the producer $1,000 a
day.
In another case, the courts fined one farmer $150 for
possession of marijuana and $424,000 for violating the supply management
regulations.
Members of the marketing board get only 75 per cent of the
anticipated market price when they are forced to deliver their syrup to the
board. Many have not received full payment for deliveries going back to 2009.
One producer is owed more than $500,000.
The marketing board has run up an inventory of 68 million
pounds worth about $150 million.
It’s holding a high price umbrella for the entire North
American industry, so production has been soaring in New Brunswick, Vermont,
Ontario and other competing locales.
Some big Quebec producers have gone to New Brunswick, such
as David Dostie who has 46,000 taps there and Nancy Boucher has 60,000 taps.
Serge Beaulieu of Ormstown is chairman of the marketing
board and says before supply management, there was a surplus of 20 million
pounds and dealers knocked the price down to 85 cents. After the marketing
board took control of inventories, it was able to extract $1.50 a pound.
But Quebec’s market share has dropped from 78 to 69 per cent
and continues to decline as production in competing provinces and states as far
away as Kentucky increase production.
Ray Bonenberg of Pembroke, president of the Ontario Maple
Syrup Producers Association, is encouraging Ontario farmers to tap more trees
to increase production from current averages of four million litres per season
closer to the 10 million litres bought by Ontario consumers.
There is a rapidly-increasing export market to countries as
far away as Japan and Saudi Arabia, and some of that maple syrup is exported
from Ontario.
Slapping supply management on an industry that thrives on
exports makes absolutely no sense. What might make sense is organizing producers
so they can expand export markets.
And it makes no sense for a farm organization to criminalize
producers. It’s simply bizarre.
