Syrup Stolen

The United States has an oil reserve, Canada has a vast maple-syrup reserve, and 10 million pounds of it has been stolen. Canada keeps an emergency supply of syrup at various locations throughout the country in case of bad maple harvests as Canada supplies 75% of the world’s maple syrup. The supply did contain 37 million pounds of the stuff until a warehouse about 100 miles north of Montreal was robbed.

The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers said the facility had scores of empty barrels, more than 15,000 of them containing more than $30 million worth of syrup drained. The surplus has been significantly depleted as thieves took off with more than a quarter of the total supply. The cache has been maintained since 2000 as a back-up against poor harvests or unexpectedly high demand.

The 10 million pounds of syrup stolen may seem like a lot but the federation says there is no immediate danger to the world supply. The St.-Louis-de-Blandford warehouse, the site of the heist, is secured with fences and locks but somehow theives still got in. After a check of other reserve sites, none have been targeted. The theft is still under investigation but one theory is the stolen maple syrup will be sold on the black market. Who knew a maple
syrup reserve was necessary, but apparently it is now.