With inflation soaring, a family of four could shell out up to $30 more for the annual trip to a sugar shack, found The newspaper.
“We rarely get away with it under $100 for four people, which is still a lot for eggs, small sausages and syrup,” says Annie Lapointe, who has been organizing the activity for 15 years, which brings together around 30 friends and family members.
Inflation has not spared the traditional sugar shack meals, the prices of which have jumped by $9, $10, and even $12 per person in some sugar bushes.
This is the case of the Sucrerie de la Montagne, in Rigaud, where the cost per adult goes from $38 to $48 on average for an evening meal. Pricing for the busiest sugaring-off period, between March 11 and April 16, is $55 for an adult and $25 for children aged 7 to 12.
For Easter Sunday lunch, a family of two adults and two children over the age of 7 will pay $160, not including tip and tax, which is over $200 at the end.
Significant increases were also observed at the Charbonneau sugar bush near Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Between 2021 and 2023, that’s an increase of $9 for adults and almost $14 for teenagers.
Many reasons
Several factors can explain the increase in the price of the meals offered, in particular the cost of certain foods, such as eggs, ham and ears of crisse, reports Josée Daigle, the owner of the Érablière au rhythm des temps.
The maple grove in Saint-Lin–Laurentides, in Lanaudière, only increased the price of adult portions by $2 this year.
“The phone is no longer ringing, inflation or not, people can’t wait to go to the cabin,” says the 61-year-old owner, as her second phone rang behind her.
The Érablis maple grove, in Estrie, also had to bow to inflation, but the price per adult remains under the $30 mark.
Photo taken from Facebook
Jean-François Laplante, owner of L’érablière Érabilis
“For all price increases, there is a necessary part and an opportunistic part”, denounces Jean-François Laplante, owner of the maple grove for 21 years, who is delighted that customers do not complain about his price list.
Tradition above all
“I am a cook and pastry chef, I would be able to do everything myself, but it’s not the same experience, it’s not like going to the cabin with the family”, launches Caroline Lambert, who foresees that the bill to sweeten the beak with his four children will be saltier this year.