[Waterluvian]

Kind of. It's not a national security strategic reserve but rather an economic one. It helps ensure a stable supply so that prices don't skyrocket, particularly as the annual harvest of maple syrup is very hard to predict: it depends heavily on freeze/thaw patterns in the spring.

The argument, I think, is that if prices are unreliable, customers are turned off from the product and develop new habits that exclude maple syrup. Without it, maple syrup prices would have been ridiculous these past couple years.

It's also how we avoid having to annex Vermont.

[thehappypm]

It also acts as a buyer when prices are very low (gotta fill the reserve somehow) which props up prices at oversupply times, keeping the industry stable.