MONTPELIER, Vt. -
Maple syrup producers on both sides of the border are angry after a major maple syrup heist in Canada.
Police say thieves stole a large chunk of $30-million worth of maple syrup from a warehouse between Montreal and Quebec City.
For many maple producers, whose business has been passed down for generations, their product is personal and this is just the latest case of criminals targeting maple syrup.
At Morse Farm in Montpelier, Vermont Friday, owner Burr Morse was not happy to hear about the theft of maple syrup in Canada.
"Oh god, it just stabs me in the heart," says Morse. "We invest our heart and soul, speaking of hearts, in making maple syrup and it's just part of us, you know?"
Morse thinks thieves tap the maple market because of syrup's high price. He sells a gallon for $57.
"As the price goes up for any product, that drives a black market to a certain degree," says Morse.
There was the Rhode Island man busted for cooking up and selling fake maple syrup last year.
"It came back that is was 100 percent cane sugar which was a big surprise," said Henry Marckres, Vermont consumer protection chief, at the time.
Also, crooks stole $4,000 dollars worth of maple syrup from a sugarhouse in Fairfield, Vermont.
"It's not right, they don't know the amount of work that goes into making syrup," said Damien Boom-Hower, the maple syrup producer.
That's what has got Morse mad about this latest case in Canada which appears to be a lot bigger than anything before.
"Why would anyone think they could get by with it? And I hope and pray they don't," says Morse.
It's not just about pride, this is also about profits. Maple syrup sales are about $40-million a year in Vermont.
