Montreal (AFP)

"For me, this represents a shortfall between 80,000 and 100,000 dollars" (52 to 65,000 euros), laments Simon Lanoue, maple syrup producer in Quebec, in front of the empty tables of his "sugar shack" hit by the coronavirus crisis.

Under a dazzling sky, with spring coming up, the syrup flows freely in its maple grove in Saint-Alexis, about sixty kilometers north of Montreal.

With a mallet, both feet in the snow, he pushes a plastic tubing connected to another into a tree, which ends up weaving like a vast spider web in the forest.

The ingenious system carries the sap by gravity to its Osias sugar shack, located in an old barn.

Inside, the dining room is deserted. It can accommodate 140 people. On weekends, the tables follow each other every two hours, in normal times.

- "Sugar time" -

But Simon had to close his dining room in mid-March, barely two weeks after the start of "sugar time".

True tradition, Quebecers flock to the sugar shacks which generally serve traditional meals until the end of April and offer to "sweeten their beaks" with maple "taffy", a thick hot syrup spread over the snow. .

Usually, "catering represents from 75 to 80%" of the turnover of Simon's cabin, but this year he will have to be content with the sale of his syrup, "which does not represent much".

"But there are cabins in worse shape than mine," he consoles himself.

Ditto in the neighboring village of Saint-Esprit, at the Constantin Grégoire sugar shack. "Here, there are three dining rooms, generally it's full everywhere," says owner Denise Grégoire in one of these rooms where moose antlers sit enthroned on the imposing fireplace.

"On March 15, we closed our doors, then we will not be able to reopen this year, it will go to next year", explains Ms. Grégoire, who had to lay off about twenty employees.

Nevertheless, Jacqueline, a client, wants to come "buy maple syrup like every year. Usually, we come to eat at the cabin. But this year, because of the virus, it's not possible".

- "Strategic reserve" -

There are more than 200 of these so-called "commercial" cabins in the province, explains Hélène Normandin, spokesperson for the federation "Quebec Maple Syrup Producers".

"They are living in a catastrophic situation. It is really not funny for the owners. This year 2020 is completely lost for them," she summarizes.

But Covid-19 or not, the manufacturing of syrup continues, the industry having been designated "essential" by the provincial government.

Canada provides 92% of world production, largely thanks to Quebec (72%), the rest coming from the American border states.

The province of Quebec has more than 11,000 producers grouped into 7,400 companies, most of them artisanal, which contribute annually up to 600 million dollars (393 million euros) to the local economy, ensuring the equivalent of 10,500 jobs on time full.

Record season, Quebec harvested more than 72,000 tonnes of syrup last year, 80% exported to sixty countries, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom being the largest buyers.

The current season promises to be "normal", according to Ms. Normandin, suggesting a slightly more modest harvest.

"The positive point is that the syrup production is going very well. I think we are going to have a good year, then the syrup again is excellent", underlines Simon Lanoue.

And no shortage is anticipated, the federation having a "strategic reserve of blond gold" to ensure price stability: more than 45,000 tonnes of syrup stored in barrels in a padlocked warehouse, as large as five football fields .

© 2020 AFP