A new warehouse for the maple syrup reserve

April 4, 2012, Longueuil, QC. – The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup
Producers has just completed the acquisition of a factory warehouse in
Laurierville, Centre-du-Québec, which will allow the packaging and storing of more
than 220,000 barrels of maple syrup.

April 4, 2012, Longueuil, QC. – The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers has just completed the acquisition of a factory warehouse in Laurierville, Centre-du-Québec. With around 234,000 square feet of floor space, the new warehouse will allow the packaging and storing of more than 220,000 barrels of maple syrup, thus ensuring a continuous market supply, regardless of nature's generosity.

Inventory support is central to controlling risk with maple syrup production. Ensuring a continual supply is essential for developing markets for maple products. For this reason, the federation acquired its first warehouse in Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly in 2008. This warehouse is already full with 15 million pounds (23,000 barrels). In 2010, an actuarial study determined that, on average, a strategic reserve of 40 million pounds would be necessary to avoid stock shortfalls due to poor harvests. Slightly more than 36 million pounds of maple syrup are currently stored in three different locations in Quebec. Last year, the federation had to rent additional storage space to cater for the harvest surplus. The new Laurierville warehouse will now provide the required space to fulfill the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve.

The federation is preparing the new warehouse for receiving and grading producers' syrup from April. Pasteurization and barrel cleaning equipment will be installed without delay. The new Laurierville factory warehouse will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology which will help with efficient syrup pasteurization, minimizing stock loss and optimizing barrel handling. The same rigorous quality controls and perfect traceability from maple grove to buyer will be in place as normal.