Why no production in Asia?

[Tithis]

This may seem like an odd question, but Japan is the second largest importer of maple syrup in the world. Demand there and in the rest of Asia is growing. In many regions of Asia they have a climate very similar to our own with similar spring temperature fluctuations. Maple species are numerous in the region and some areas they even have a tradition of drinking the sap in the spring.

So I guess what it comes down to is why isn't tapping being done in Asia anywhere? Given the high cost of syrup in Asia I find it odd no one over there has attempted to do it commercially.

[maple flats]

Rejoice, that helps raise the price.

[Brent]

Don't be getting too optomistic.

China bought 1 million sugar maple seedlings from someone in Canada a few years ago.

Twenty five years from now ...................

[farmall h]

Maybe the Asian Maple Beetle ate up all their trees.:rolleyes:

[Bucket Head]

Can we find out who sold the seedlings? If so, we should all go there and just...

Sorry, I almost forgot, this is a non-violent website.

Steve

[BoarsNest]

With their environmental record, we probably just need to test for lead like in their toys.

[red maples]

why ask why just be thankful they haven't done it YET:rolleyes:!!!!

[slammer3364]

I really enjoy alot of these views,it brings a smile to face.The most glaring observation I can see is that it is also very logical ,we have a new movement with the Tea Party Why Not The Maple Syrup Producers Party?

[Tithis]

I actually find the hostility toward the idea rather interesting considering this is a forum of syrup producers helping and encouraging each other. If you want the supply of syrup to stay low so that the selling price remains high then why help others get started in the first place?

[gmcooper]

I actually find the hostility toward the idea rather interesting considering this is a forum of syrup producers helping and encouraging each other. If you want the supply of syrup to stay low so that the selling price remains high then why help others get started in the first place?

A couple points here:
The supply of syrup is not low. There is a rather large surplus sitting in Canada and most of the major packers have a good supply on hand with less than 2 months till syrup season. I wouldn't say syrup prices are high. Maybe a decent balance with the cost of production, supply, and economy as well as demand.

Now as far as "helping" the Chinese make syrup? I can't imagine a syrup producer ever wanting the Chinese to ever get making maple syrup. They have a horrible record with food safety and product purity. Not to mention the issue with dumping product on the US/ Canadian markets at well below market or production costs. If you have any doubt how the Chinese play by the rules checkout Chinese honey entering US and CA. Currently I think it is coming in at $.20 /lb or less. Current prices for bulk US or CA honey to packers is in the $1.50-1.60 /lb range and that is low. Chinese honey frequently fails tests for banned antibiotics and purity issues. To avoid tariffs on dumping honey they are trans shipping conatainer loads through other southeast Asian countries with little or no commercial honey production which is illeagal. Several importers have been fined and jailed in this but there is always some one waiting to fill the void. Ask a commercial beekeeper their opinion on helping the Chinese.

I have absolutly no problem helping out a fellow producer in US or CA. Just the other night after a maple meeting several of us had a very good discussion on increasing production. All of us were in the same market area and would at least be somewhat competing for the same market. Maple Trader is an excellent resource for maple producers and hope it remains that way for a long time to come.

Just my thoughts
Mark

[Tithis]

My apologies, I took the hostility as being directed at any Asian producers, not just China. I think that was in part due to when I made this thread I was thinking in particular about the South Koreans and the Japanese, not the Chinese. Both of whom have wages more similar to our own here in North America and thus would probably have comparable costs of production.

[gmcooper]

Tithis, I guess I should have read your intial post better. I did not consider any one other than China with the potential to try maple production. I do not see Japan or S. Korea with enough potential to impact world wide markets. I do think you are correct that their cost would be compareable to North America.

[Tweegs]

Having been in both Korea and Japan…

Japan is very crowded making land prices a premium. Most mortgages are financed over a 99 year period. We have friends, natives, that bought a 60 X 60 lot for 3 million, the house was worth nothing. Granted, this is in Tokyo, but high cost per acre is typical of most of the country. In other words, maple production would be seen as not cost effective. This is one of those rare cases where we in the US and CA could flood the market with a cheaper product than they can afford to produce.

Korea is similar in that the average income level prohibits land acquisition. At the time I was there, ’82-’83, there was a 100% luxury tax imposed on electronics and vehicles, I can’t say for sure if that included land, but I would assume that high taxation prevented most of the population from being able to acquire any.

In both countries, rice is the dominate crop, the main staple of their diet. As such, most of the land that could be used for rice paddies, is used for rice paddies. Maple would be considered a luxury crop, and again, not cost effective production wise to compete with the western world.

Climate rules out many of the other Asian countries, leaving only China, and perhaps a few other, smaller, countries able to produce.

[Revi]

They have a bunch of maple species and I know that they go to drink the sap in the springtime, like a tonic in Korea. I would imagine it would boil down to something like maple syrup. I wonder why they don't do it some places?

China is turning into a desert around Beijing, so it would have to be in Manchuria for them to do it there. I think the forests are mostly pine and spruce up there. There are a lot of different maples in Asia, though.

I don't think any of them are going to be as good as our sugar maples, though.

We have the advantage there. They tried to plant them in Europe, and the climate didn't allow for a maple season, so it may not work in Asia either. The spring warms up too fast.

[Revi]

Here's a map of maple distribution around the world. We are in the sweet spot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_genus_Acer.png