Police in Quebec, Canada, were following the scent of something sweet - millions of dollars' worth of maple syrup missing from a large warehouse stocking over $30million worth of the amber nectar. The theft puts a cavity-sized dent in Quebec's syrup stock, considered to be a global strategic reserve of the sweet stuff that is often used to replenish markets during disappointing seasons. Quebec produces up to 80 per cent of the world's maple syrup. Quebec Provincial Sgt Claude Denis said on Friday that it was too soon to determine the exact quantity or value of the maple syrup stolen from the St. Louis-De-Blandford facility where over 10 million pounds is stored, but it is likely that millions of dollars worth of the product were taken. Scroll down for video . Sweet heist: Millions of dollars' worth of maple syrup was swiped from the St. Louis-De-Blandford warehouse in Quebec stocking over 10 million pounds of the sticky stuff . The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers said it discovered the missing syrup last week during a routine inventory where empty barrels were found at the site at St-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec, meaning that the sticky liquid was somehow transferred to other containers by the perpetrators. The federation is the industry association for the province's 7,500 syrup producers, and administers a bulk sale system with quotas on individual operations, according to CBC News. If every drop of syrup was stolen from . the warehouse, it would represent more than a tenth of Quebec's harvest . for this year, and more than a quarter of the federation's inventory. Officials initially kept the news quiet, hoping it would help police solve the crime. Anne-Marie Granger Godbout, the executive director of the federation, said that while it is not unusual for individual maple syrup producers to have stock stolen, having millions worth of syrup stolen is ‘unusual.’ ‘It's the first time something like this has happened,’ she said. ‘We've never seen a robbery of this magnitude.’ She said the disappearance of the stock was not obvious at first in the huge warehouse. The facility alone houses nearly the equivalent of half the entire U.S. production of maple syrup in a year, she said. Sticky situation: If the stolen syrup makes its way onto the market, it could hurt some 10,000 Quebec producers . ‘The U.S. market is the main market for maple syrup, about 75 per cent of Canadian maple syrup is directly exported to the U.S.,’ she said. She noted the theft was particularly ill-timed after a disappointing 2012 season for U.S. producers, triggering more demand for Canadian syrup. She said auditors would require a few more days to determine how many of the 45-gallon barrels have been emptied. Theft of stock at the individual producer level prompted the industry in Quebec to group inventory in locations such as this, Granger Godbout said. While the federation is insured for the loss, if the stolen syrup makes its way onto the market, it could hurt the group's 10,000 members, CNN reported. VIDEO: The industry is now worred that a Maple Syrup black market will emerge...
Syrup was stolen from the St. Louis-De-Blandford site where over 10million pounds of the sweet stuff is stored .
Thieves emptied the syrup from barrels and somehow transferred it into other containers .
If entire contents of the facility was stolen, it would represent more than tenth of Quebec's 2012 syrup harvest .
Police in Quebec, Canada, were following the scent of something sweet - millions of dollars' worth of maple syrup missing from a large warehouse stocking over $30million worth of the amber nectar. The theft puts a cavity-sized dent in Quebec's syrup stock, considered to be a global strategic reserve of the sweet stuff that is often used to replenish markets during disappointing seasons. Quebec produces up to 80 per cent of the world's maple syrup. Quebec Provincial Sgt Claude Denis said on Friday that it was too soon to determine the exact quantity or value of the maple syrup stolen from the St. Louis-De-Blandford facility where over 10 million pounds is stored, but it is likely that millions of dollars worth of the product were taken. Scroll down for video . Sweet heist: Millions of dollars' worth of maple syrup was swiped from the St. Louis-De-Blandford warehouse in Quebec stocking over 10 million pounds of the sticky stuff . The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers said it discovered the missing syrup last week during a routine inventory where empty barrels were found at the site at St-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec, meaning that the sticky liquid was somehow transferred to other containers by the perpetrators. The federation is the industry association for the province's 7,500 syrup producers, and administers a bulk sale system with quotas on individual operations, according to CBC News. If every drop of syrup was stolen from . the warehouse, it would represent more than a tenth of Quebec's harvest . for this year, and more than a quarter of the federation's inventory. Officials initially kept the news quiet, hoping it would help police solve the crime. Anne-Marie Granger Godbout, the executive director of the federation, said that while it is not unusual for individual maple syrup producers to have stock stolen, having millions worth of syrup stolen is ‘unusual.’ ‘It's the first time something like this has happened,’ she said. ‘We've never seen a robbery of this magnitude.’ She said the disappearance of the stock was not obvious at first in the huge warehouse. The facility alone houses nearly the equivalent of half the entire U.S. production of maple syrup in a year, she said. Sticky situation: If the stolen syrup makes its way onto the market, it could hurt some 10,000 Quebec producers . ‘The U.S. market is the main market for maple syrup, about 75 per cent of Canadian maple syrup is directly exported to the U.S.,’ she said. She noted the theft was particularly ill-timed after a disappointing 2012 season for U.S. producers, triggering more demand for Canadian syrup. She said auditors would require a few more days to determine how many of the 45-gallon barrels have been emptied. Theft of stock at the individual producer level prompted the industry in Quebec to group inventory in locations such as this, Granger Godbout said. While the federation is insured for the loss, if the stolen syrup makes its way onto the market, it could hurt the group's 10,000 members, CNN reported. VIDEO: The industry is now worred that a Maple Syrup black market will emerge...
strategic reserve of the sweet stuff that is or value of the maple syrup stolen from the St. Louis-De-Blandford facility where over 10 million stocking over 10 million pounds of the sticky sticky liquid was somehow transferred to other stolen from . the warehouse, it would represent more than a tenth of Quebec's harvest . for this