Bottling Prices

[TuckerMike]

Is it just me or are syrup jug prices quite a bit higher this year? I bought a case of pt jugs for $120 last year and this year the same jug, from the same store is $175? Quarts were $144 and now they're $205 per case? Did I get one heck of a deal last year?

[wmick]

Is it just me or are syrup jug prices quite a bit higher this year? I bought a case of pt jugs for $120 last year and this year the same jug, from the same store is $175? Quarts were $144 and now they're $205 per case? Did I get one heck of a deal last year?

Not sure if you are talking about glass or plastic.... But right now, North America is in a plastic shortage... That may be the reason for the price hike.. Any of our suppliers of plastic products, at work, have been giving us price increases, and suggesting that lead times may increase drastically due to shortage of raw material...

Plastic primarily comes from petroleum, and they are suggesting that the shortage is tied to the devastation in Texas...

[TuckerMike]

Yes, I am talking about plastic jugs. I heard there was a shortage, but didn't think it would equate to a 30% increase in price. Supply and demand I guess. I just wonder if & how it will affect syrup pricing this season as our cost to produce the product just jumped significantly.

[fred]

jugs are based on oil. thanks to joe fuel is up 39 1/2% in less than 2 months. cant wait to see where it stops. just another trickle down.

also sugarhill is so far behind, others have been piled on with orders. supply and demand drove all of them up especially since glass is short too.

sugarhill is 11 months out, ampack 3 months and cdl 4 months. i ordered a semi load of glass(all same type) in november for february, might come in this week.........

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Yes, not hearing good things from CDL up here either. Everyone is on a waiting list for plastic jugs in quarts and pints. Am being told CDL jugs are still coming but that Ampack is months out as fred mentioned.

[fred]

yes CDL is coming but they were down longer than expected for redesign. new orders are 4 months out but placed orders are moving out daily

[maple flats]

Try a different vendor, some might still be selling last year stock at the old prices, others might have updated to this years prices which will be considerably higher. A lot of the increase (but not all) is because lots of oil refineries were shut down, plastic for making the jugs is from processing crude oil. Additionally crude prices are way up too.

[maple flats]

I've resisted raising my syrup prices for 8 years. However this recent huge increase in jug prices and bottle prices has forced me to raise my retail prices across the board. Of course, while jugs and bottles cost more, several other things have also gone up in the last 8 years, but 2020 and 2021 seem the worst.
Suggestion for other producers, review your prices. Be sure to try to look at all of your costs, not just the jug and bottle costs. Figure in the filters (or filter aid) the jugs, bottles, and everything right down to the labels you put on the containers. Add everything up, then decide what you need to get to make more than what you would get if you flipped burgers at McDonald's. You have invested lots of hard earned money to build a sugarhouse, buy an expensive evaporator, all of the plumbing, the head tank, the sap tanks, the vacuum pump(s), the sap pumps, the releaser, the filter press, the finisher if you use one, the draw off (auto draw or valves) thermometers, lights, heat, fuel etc., etc, etc. You have a huge investment, not to mention drills, taps, tubing, tubing tools, ATV's snowmobiles, snow shoes and on and on. How about the truck(s) you use? Try as you can to add all of these, then set your price, but don't try to get rich in just one season. Selling syrup requires you to balance costs and compare them to "what the market will bear" for retail and wholesale prices.

[VT_K9]

We were at our dealer last month getting some supplies and I noticed their number of jugs was lower than normal. With all the other shortages going on I asked about availability. We bought some plastic and glass bottles.

I was told there is a shortage on both plastic and glass bottles for the next six months or so. I figured I would pick up what we normally get at the end of the season with the unknown ahead (plus they were having a sale so the price would be the same minus the difference in cost due to oil prices).

Mike

PS I am starting to hear through some sources Mason type jars are getting ready to hit the shelves (my local ACE stores are getting some Kerr products in) soon.

[TuckerMike]

Mike

PS I am starting to hear through some sources Mason type jars are getting ready to hit the shelves (my local ACE stores are getting some Kerr products in) soon.


We actually thought about switching to Mason jars as we can get quarts for just over $1 each. The problem with that is we'd have to come up with all the "required labeling" that is already printed on the plastic jugs AND find a place to put that sticker on the mason jar.

I agree with Dave....we need to add up all of our costs and make sure we're getting fair market value for our product. There's a LOT of producers in my area that seem to be running cut-throat operations trying to corner the market with cheap pricing. I'm just not willing to sell a product, that takes me hours to produce, for less that what it is actually worth. I'm not looking to get rich off this adventure by any means...but I can't see giving it away for peanuts either.

[GeneralStark]

I have always had a hard time getting plastic jugs this time of year, but this last year has certainly been more challenging overall for plastic and all other packaging I use, which in my case is a lot...

I now use several different different suppliers for plastic and glass and have different options for what will work with our labels. For instance, for smooth sided glass canning jars I have a few different options for each size so that when one is unavailable I can usually find some that will work. I completely moved away from Mason jars due to availability and needing smooth sided for labeling.

Pricing has been variable as well with anything made in China or Canada increasing in price (tariffs and pandemic). Domestic products has been mixed with the Ball jar supply chain issues throwing off all domestic production...

I have a hard time believing that texas refineries shutting down has had much impact on the current price of syrup jugs given the overall state of supply chain issues across the board, but oil prices do certainly impact plastic prices. The reality is that none of this stuff is going to be getting any cheaper...

[VT_K9]

We actually thought about switching to Mason jars as we can get quarts for just over $1 each. The problem with that is we'd have to come up with all the "required labeling" that is already printed on the plastic jugs AND find a place to put that sticker on the mason jar.

I agree with Dave....we need to add up all of our costs and make sure we're getting fair market value for our product. There's a LOT of producers in my area that seem to be running cut-throat operations trying to corner the market with cheap pricing. I'm just not willing to sell a product, that takes me hours to produce, for less that what it is actually worth. I'm not looking to get rich off this adventure by any means...but I can't see giving it away for peanuts either.

We have printed the necessary information on an Avery label and applied it to the jar. We have a small label with our name and e-mail address. We use the round maple leaf grade sticker on the top. We are changing to mason style (ours will be Kerr) jars for local sales unless they want plastic or a fancy glass jar. The mason jars are normally less expensive if they are available. The last year brought a lot of new gardeners out of the woodwork and they canned their goods.

[Michael Greer]

But don't worry...it's not inflation.