Government of Canada Contributes $651,513 to the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec

"The Government of Canada is proud to support our maple producers," said Minister Paradis. "We are pleased that our collaboration with the FPAQ, which began with previous contributions of $1.3 million, is continuing today, to open new markets for maple products and provide new business opportunities for our maple producers."

"The results of the Federation's work to expand markets with the support of federal agriculture funding programs will have a direct impact on the Canadian maple industry's development, and we are happy to have initiated and to steer implementation of the strategic plan, on behalf of all the players in the value chain," said Serge Beaulieu, President of the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec.

The funding announced today by Minister Paradis is in two parts. Up to $545,000 in funding from the Canadian Agriculture and Food International program will help the Federation to further build export markets for maple products, particularly in Japan, the US and the UK.

In addition, $106,513 has been allotted to the Federation from the AAFC Agri-Innovation Program so it can continue putting in place its innovation strategy, Nouvelle generation de l'erable 2020. In the coming months, the Federation will work on developing a symbiotic maple beverage, quantifying the polyphenols found in maple syrup, developing a data sheet on the health benefits of maple products, conducting a market study to determine priority sectors and organizing a forum to reveal the research results to the industry.

The Canadian maple products industry is comprised of 8,538 maple businesses, of which 99 per cent are small to medium-size companies. Maple holds great potential in terms of research. The leads identified so far look promising - potentially increasing opportunities in domestic and international markets, thus supporting the regional economy through increased production of maple products.

BACKGROUND

The Agri-Innovation Program aims to accelerate the rate of identification, assessment, development and adoption of innovation-based products, thereby providing new market-oriented, commercialization opportunities for the agri-food sector. The Federation's work was supported at an earlier stage by a federal contribution of $532,565 from the Broker Program.

The Canadian Agriculture and Food International (CAFI) program fosters export market expansion for Canadian products. In 2006, Canadian maple products were sold in 48 countries, with the bulk of production coming from Quebec. The Federal funding of $540,913 in 2007-2008 has already contributed to market expansion: according to industry estimates, the value of maple product exports increased 14 per cent to $217.3 million in 2007 from $190.2 million in 2006.

The expansion strategy of the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec focuses on the Canadian origin of the maple products and positioning them as authentic, natural, and unrefined products whose nutritional value gives them a market advantage over competing products.

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