Are they calling the farmers market the black market?

A black market for maple syrup? only in Canada

This isn't bad journalism because it's ethically biased, it's bad journalism because literally no one explained what was going on. We just got a bunch of opinions and now I get the vague idea that some sort of agency that may or may not be governmental is repossessing maple syrup on some farms? Bad job.

"Wanna buy some maple syrup" *opens trench coat*

Homemade maple syrup is black market? What if homemade salsa sales were called black market?!

Federation's guy has typical corporate mindset. 'If you won't join us, we'll crush you.' Pretty sad and very damaging to those small farmers and consumers. BTW - beautiful footage.

And this just into the newsroom: little kids will no longer be able to sell lemonade at roadside stands in Canada. Effective immediately, there will be a government-run lemonade cartel to sell it for them.

Americans got crack Canadians got maple syrup.

That's straight organized crime

I can't wait to see Canada's version of Breaking Bad! A story about a law abiding recreational marijuana distributor who gives it all up to make the purest maple syrup to sell on the street to hungry pancake eaters at breakfast time.

And what's so black about private farmers producing their product?

people making their own product and we dont get a cut of the money? now we cant have that now can we? just give us your product and money ad dont worry... ;)

OPEC, raisin cartel, maple syrup cartel...

I just received a can of black market maple syrup. I couldn't be happier to help out independent producers. Thanks for posting this. I was researching what brand it could be with no proper company name or grading. Awesome!

Well there seems to be a lot of confusion in the comments, and this is understandable considering the video was quite one-sided and failed to explain a few things. I'll try to address and explain a few of the most common comments/complaints. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT SET THE PRICE FOR SYRUP. The reason that the production of maple syrup is "controlled" is because of the variance in production every year; every industry has variations in its annual yield, but maple syrup is especially sensitive. For this reason, Quebec's many maple syrup producers got together and formed the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec (Quebec Federation of maple syrup producers). Getting together allowed them to create a common "buffer" to which they all contribute. On good years the buffer increases and on low-yield years it decreases but individual farmers don't feel as much of a hit because sales can remain constant. It creates an artificially stable annual yield, which leads to a more stable cost, instead of costing $25 per can one year and $2.50 the next. This is what they were referring to in the video. sidenote: Steady sales = Steady price = Stable market; all of which is good for producers. The reason their production got shut down: maple syrup is a food product, and is regulated as such. This means maple syrup producers must oblige to some regulations to produce, sell and distribute the product. It's perfectly reasonable. The people in the video failed to license/register their production and sale of food product and got shut down. If you produce maple syrup at home you can consume it yourself, give it to your neighbours, your friends and family etc. but you can't sell it to the general public and make a business out of it without proper registration. The best analogy I can find is someone who hunts/fishes on his property and feeds himself off of what he gathers. It's fine for him to do that, it's fine for him to give some to his friends, but he will be subject to regulations if he wants to open up a meat shop. Why make a federation? on top of what was mentionned in the second paragraph (steadier sales=steadier price), bundling the production from many farms also allows smaller farms to get a good distribution network without much overhead costs. Grocery stores don't want to deal with small local producers, it's too tough to manage, it's much easier to have one supplier that can supply many stores. Most people won't drive out of town to buy a bottle of syrup, and there aren't many producers downtown... with the lack of trees and all. It makes it much easier for producers to sell product in stores if they unify under a common banner and sell as one. Similar to the way Heinz buys tomatoes from many farmers, makes ketchup out of them and distributes worldwide. Also, maple syrup producers can still sell their syrup themselves directly to customers. I'm not sure of exactly how it's managed but one thing is for sure: I'm surrounded by local maple syrup producers and they never run out of stock if you go visit them. The answer to "why can't I sell my syrup myself?" is "You can." and as far as I can tell, as much as you can.

canadas biggest crime syndicate. the maple syrup mob. "give us your syrup, eh"

It's like the DeBeers of Maple Syrup. Monopoly, price fixing, squash the litre guy.

I never thought i'd read a title like this in my life haha

"they decided to band together as one group" ummm sounds like a monopoly that's taking advantage of independent farmers

Give these guys a break.

if it pleases the queen may i make a product to provide for my family without having to deal with massive regulation and taxes?

The good news is the exact same stuff is available from Ontario, New Brunswick, etc. Don't paint all of Canada with the same brush just because Quebec has dumb laws.

there are plenty of American Maple syrup companies. I'm considering writing a letter to the Quebec cartel, but I'm done buying Canadian Maple syrup. As a small business myself, I can't stomach a version of OPEC pressing the small businesses out.

where can we support them?

It's important that the Quebec gov control the maple syrup sells. Because if the sells are let loose, the system could fall apart and the producers could enter a malignant price war and destroy the most stable income of Quebec. With Quebec receiving huge annual federal equalization payment already, having a stable income is vital to ensure Quebec's partial autonomy against provinces like Alberta, who believes money decides all. In other words, the American should not interfere with our internal affairs. PS: I am from BC, I stand in solidarity with Quebec.

The joys of government control.

"black market, dark side" when I read tittles, I though the Maple syrups is bad, add dangerous toxic ingredient,etc.. How is it black market??? When they just living a normal farmer life & increase good products??? So ppl like buyer, can actually can buy handmade maple syrup all the way they what or chose to use maple syrup come from big company. More choice is good, why not???

This is one of the most Canadian thing I've watched and I'm Canadian. 0_o

this is not a free country after all....So sad to see these kind of things...

What the federation guy is calling a black market is actually what is called a free market. But, here in Quebec, almost everything is like this, from dairy products to all fruits and agricultural products. They lobby and they put many rules and laws to protect their profit. There is no such thing as the free market in Quebec. Do you want to know more, check what they did to Uber.

The local producers receives about 20% more money because of this "cartel". It's really not that bad. Actually it's pretty awesome.

Very interesting content

They'd get their head blown off if they thought they were gonna confiscate my syrup for their profit.

This makes me want to stop buying maple syrup completely.

What is being describes is not a "black market", it is a free market.

This is crazy. I had no idea. How are things now? Anything changed?

I think that is crap. It's their land, their trees. They didn't opt in to a maple syrup co-op. If happily buy it from a road side stand rather than give my hard earned dollars to "Big Maple".

"The Darker Side of Maple Syrup." Hmm... DOES THIS MEAN RIVERDALE?

I wonder how this all worked out.

It's similar to what Monsanto has been doing to corn and soybeans and multiple other crops in the USA. It's sick. Why can't we grow our own, make our own, and sell whatever is left? I doubt it's going to make much of a dent. Black market- yeah right.

I'd love to know exactly how the independent farmers are piggybacking off the rest as that guy said

but it also isnt taxed when it is sold through the black market so that's why the gov has to "crack down" on maple syrup producers. they are selling it on their own, without any regulations. this is the right thing to do.

You can tell that office boy has never produced a drop of syrup himself.

I have issue with any entity that would deny free enterprise whether it be government or "federation". The work of a syrup farmer hurts no one.

You've gotta wonder why these small guys won't join the federation. That question wasn't asked. If they undercut each other in such a volatile market they'll have years where nobody makes any money. It seems to make economic sense to have the coalition they do.

Wow!!! I can't stand it when we aren't allowed to do what we want with our own property! I feel for you.

Sacra bleu Maple syrup whatever next frogs legs, snails, conilingus?? Where's Bubbles Julian & Ricky. They'd open up a chain of commerce lol

This sounds like something directly from Ayn Rand, where government regulation doesn't stop criminal behavior, but rather causes price fixing and reduces competition, hurting people and businesses (particularly new or small businesses). Regulations are good for enforcing safety standards, but not much too much else. Milton Friedman has also warned about this type of "regulation" for decades.

Why wouldn't the Federation let farmers do their own thing? They have their huge reserve of maple syrup, don't they? If there are people outside the Federation making maple syrup, that makes it easier to build up its reserves. When those people run short on a given year, the Federation can use its bigger reserves to "stabilize" the market for maple syrup. Basically, this Federation is the OPEC of maple syrup as far as Canada's concerned. There should at least be a couple of these organizations to compete against each other, though membership should not be compulsory.

Guy at 3:00 is obviously kicking an empty barrel while video implying this is a stock warehouse of maple syrup

remember - you have options - start your own cooperative - there are lots of ways to solve the problem just thing outside their box -

Black Market, Farmers Market, Free Market, Faux-Free Market; the Syrup Must Flow.

another example of over regulation in Canada

missing context in the video, it seems like it's part of a large 'conversation'

It's not black market if you sell your maple syrup as a member of the federation. Literally the only thing the guy has to do is register with the federation and agree to sell at the price decided, meet with the quality standard, and use their packaging. You have to understand that it takes 40 units of weight of maple water to make 1 unit of weight of maple syrup. If this was an open market, the little guy would sell it too cheap and the entire market would collapse. It would not be profitable to mass produce. The federation exists to protect the market from itself. The federation is just a coop of maple producers, not an evil corporation coming to take your syrup. It's already difficult to meet yearly demand, there is barely any leftover from one year to the next, and it's already pretty cheap for all the work that goes into producing it.

The idea is that the crazy HIGH prices for maple syrup was due to THE COLLECTIVE of FREE MARKET farmers controlling their output and storage and sale. Then scabs come along PROFIT twice as much or gut thru lower prices and don't want to pay into the group helping stabilize HIGH prices. I can't see the small percentage of scabbers doing harm enough to allow courts to let the MAPLE SYRUP Federation group go and collect any producer's harvest in the region...BUT if another organized scabbing group is doing it to slice off the pie and ruin it for others then they should investigate. Take MILK in the US has groups trying to maintain volume into the market so the prices don't drop so bad for small producers getting hurt, but in US there's alot of USDA supported DIRECT sales Dairies selling into regions local high quality stuff to cover their margins than GUT the market with dumping. Most of the TEABAGGER in US don't understand or never heard of HISTORY and how US farmers were RUINED by unmitigated markets. Even now PRIVATE FARM LAND is being sold off to huge concerns and foreign farm landmanagement companies(they pay like old school share croppers serfs people to farm) to profit from massive farming high volume gutting markets for small farmers who end up selling out or BECOMING SERFS/SLAVES to other land owners.

This is really depressing

Uhhh... what they are calling "black market" is not black market... Just because they're not part of the cartel doesn't make what they're doing wrong. This federation is the OPEC of maple syrup.

Copyright law, Maple Syrup edition. Welcome to freedom.

I didn't know there was such thing as BLACK MARKET maple syrup... until now. Now I wanna get some of it...from black market. huuuuh so nervous yet excited!

me hear: black market me think: some sort of sugar syrup fake me shocked: you mean mom-and-up farmer???!!!!

the price of maple syrup in the states is about $20 a quart. I'd love to be able to by directly from a mom and pop outfit, but it looks like big maple is crushing them.

Basically, Maple Syrup is a fortune, because there's a monopoly that controls it instead of the competition of the Free Market. Just like oil (and Gas) is so expensive because it's controlled by another Monopoly called OPEC. And Glasses (& Sunglasses) are a fortune because they're controlled by another monopoly called Luxottica. All these monopolies do is enrich the company owners on the ordinary person's back. We need to bring back the free market to level the playing field and lower the price for everyone.

Why they don't want farmer grown their own food, product & sales their own food??? Only big company can product & sales them? And Gorvenment, cops, law is standing with their side to shut down these small bussiness!!! If gorvenment doing wrong things, why all the farmer not stand up together asking for their rights??? Where local ppl when these ppl get bully & need help??? Cold place have no problem but please don't be...cold heart!!!

"The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (French: Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec, FPAQ) is a private organization..." This was the first sentence on the Wikipedia page for the federation. Notice private organization. This is not a state-owned organization and does thus not fall under socialism. This is the acts of greedy capitalism and if Americans can't even distinguish between these I don't quite know where your country is heading towards.

I grew up making "black market" syrup in NW PA, and as a natural sweetener I use it every day. But I won't be buying Canadian syrup any more. This goes a LONG way toward explaining why a dirt cheap raw resource with dead simple processing is so EXPENSIVE internationally.

4:28 is like those nature wallpapers I see in the internet. Feel relaxing just staring at them.

The Federation of Maple Syrup is now an 'Ivory Tower', content only to keep ITSELF alive eh...

This must just be in Quebec. Lots of Maple Syrup producers in Eastern Ontario who sell it on their own without some giant "Federation"

why am i not surprised that Canada has a maple syrup black market

So the farmers agreed to be part of the syrup group to reap the benefits and are now mad that they have to follow the rules?

What's the fudge looking thing they poured into the small plastic containers?

In America, you have the DEA and drugs. In Canada, you have the federation and maple syrup.

Start a Farmer Alliance group ban resources together , and lobby for a change of law. FIGHT BACK

It's too bad this video does not begin by stating the 2 simple rules which producers who are not members of the Federation must respect: -Must be sold in containers of 5 liters (1.3 US gallon) or 5 kilograms and under.-Must be from a maple syrup producer directly to a consumer for personal use by that consumer (not for resale). Many non-affiliated producers in Québec do very well while respecting these rules. They can sell their syrup at better prices than the federation would pay them and the consumer will pay less than syrup bought in a retail store. It's a matter for these producers of pulling up their sleeves and going after these eager customers who wish to pay less.

What a shame. I like going to a local community farmers market - great locally grown crops, fresh, great prices & great for the small business owners. This won't hurt the big chain grocery stores & they're not worried on either side. I much prefer to buy my honey from the local farmers markets over a grocery store, for example. I'd probably prefer my maple syrup the same way if we had small maple producers around here. Do these big maple producers really fear the small guy that much? Leave the small guys alone. Put a cap on production size that distinguishes a small vs large producer & grandfather the independent farms out if they don't want to be a part. Seems heavy on the socialist side of big government. What a mess up there north and east of the border.

That is not called black market. It is called home made.

I think this is very much like the beef industry. the big ranchers will corner the market and under cut prices in mass production but the small ranchers will have a hard time if the market is saturated with cheap beef. level the playing field by increase export is one way of solving the problem.

It really comes down to who owns the trees. If the federation owns the trees, they own syrup. But they don't own the trees now, do they?

BTW, that "warehouse" filled with barrels of maple syrup is actually only part of the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve, which is basically Canada's version of the US Strategic Oil Reserve. Sounds strange, but note that maple syrup is roughly 25 times more expensive by volume than oil, and that it represents almost 80% of the world's supply, and it makes more sense. Besides, Quebec can make only so much other revenue making hockey sticks and pipe organs. :-) Also, there was a huge theft of this reserve years ago; almost 1000 metric tons worth $30M Can. The biggest crime story in Canada since the Mad Trapper of Rat River! Anyway, the evil perps were caught, did time, and later all died from diabetes and pancake allergies. Ah, the Fates and their sense of humor. OK, I made that last bit up. :-)

If those producers are selling too cheap, buy it from them. Then they can store it and limit the supply. That should solve the flooding of the market issue, at least from producers of legit products.

If every product was regulated this way, they would all stand up and stop it.

They don't like local farmer the richest 1%

I'd much rather buy from a local farmer than the Federation. You are helping the local guy pay for his daughter's braces, or his son's little league practice, rather than the corporate guy's private jet or 3rd vacation home. Plus I'd be willing to bet the little guy provides a better product too.

Ah, classic small business versus cartels. It never plays out well.

So if these farmers created a "company" a LLC 🍁... Would that make it "legal"?

The small maple harvesters should band together & stand against the Maple Mafia.

Well, if the independent farmer can't benefit from the stockpiling of maple syrup, he shouldn't be hurt by the flooding of the market with aforementioned stockpile either.

this story didn't explain why some producers disagreed.... jeez why were they labeled black market?

these people do not understand that they benifit from the labor of the federation. the only reason they can charge what they do is because of the stabalization of the price of syrup.

Yeah... Everything in Canada is great!

Wish someone in this video would explain what's going on... why is selling your own syrup legally considered "black market"?

A lot of questions unanswered with this presentation. Who is the "federation"? How much government involvement is in the federation? Are there any government controls (regulations) that insure quality (no fillers like corn sweeteners, any standard for syrup viscosity) and public safety (cleanliness) of the product? Can these farmers (independent producers of syrup) able to sell to the federation at a fair market price? (The difference of wholesale Vs. retail.) Is this just the syrup or does this concern other maple syrup products like maple sugar candy? Is the federation preventing the farmers from selling locally or producing for their own consumption? News media needs to report more accurate reporting than just one sided views. This is a bad news story.

Quite a curious piece by the NYT considering this is exactly the kind of behavior that they seem to espouse in the States.

Director Simon says that most of the farmers are happy with the situation. Il bet they weren't happy when the real black market waltzed in a few years back and helped themselves to all that unguarded maple syrup. That's about 50 million retail worth in today's money.

They should've named this "the bitter side of maple syrup" instead

Sounds like the federation just wants to have all the control of the market and that only ever happens for one reason: they want to have full control of the pricing. Its not good for consumers or small producers

Imagine maple syrup being called a “black market”

The government sold your family that land fair and square. What you produce from it should be pure profit so long as all debts are paid. As a landowner, this is private enterprise and the raw material coming from your private soil is your own. Tax the land as usual, but it isn't the problem for the state when the landowner has found a way to make a profit of the natural resources on their bought and paid for property.

It's not at all a corporate mindset, it's a trade union mindset. You heard the federation guy, the idea is to make the price the same all the time for every farmer. And if they don't want to join, they should be forced to join because the work the federation does is supposed to help everyone succeed, so the freedom to choose to be represented or not (just like, in Quebec, you can choose not to adhere to a trade union, but you still have to chip in monetarily) has to be taken away from the individual. And in the case of maple syrup, the example is very striking, but aside from building a huge reserve in the middle of nowhere, almost every other farmed product is treated the same. Either with production quotas like for milk, or with extremely generous state subsidized insurance in the case of fruit and vegetable, and every other manner of government redtape in between. To really understand what is being described in this video, you have to understand how popular socialism has been when these organisms and institutions were being set up. And apparently still is, when you hear that guy, sitting in front of a Quebec flag, but no Canadian flag which is a blatant faux pas, harp on and on about how the planned economy of maple syrup is the best thing for everyone.