Maple producers in New Brunswick face challenges with weather, low dollar

Maple producers in southern New Brunswick are worried that unpredictable weather and a sagging Canadian dollar will have a negative impact on their bottom line this year.

Last year’s maple season ended on a sour note for those same producers as record snowfall buried and broke off so many sap lines that producers had their worst harvest ever.

Dave Briggs from Briggs Maples in Riverview said this year, the problems are different.

“What does concern me is the milder temperatures this year, staying above normal,” he said. “With less snow on the ground it may create the tree to flow earlier than it should.”

It’s still too soon to predict what kind of weather the rest of winter holds, but Briggs said the low Canadian dollar is also giving him a chill.

READ MORE: Low loonie drives up grocery bills 4.1% as food prices ‘accelerate’

The increased costs could eventually trickle down to consumers.

“I do see prices increasing maybe slightly due to increase costs to manufacture the stuff,” Briggs said.

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He said he’ll likely have to raise his prices by about 50 cents per gallon.

According to the New Brunswick Maple Syrup Association, most of the approximately $18 million in syrup that’s bottled in the province each year stays in Canada.

Briggs said producers who suffered devastating loses last year won’t be able to recoup some of their losses by exporting product to the United States.

He is hoping the low Canadian dollar will entice more American visitors to head north and buy his bottles, which now carry the new North American grading system.

“The syrup hasn’t changed, it’s just the name on it, and it makes it a little more difficult if you are not sure what you are buying,” he said. “But people go by the look of it.”