Source: http://qz.com/498630/america-this-is-our...

Multi-million-dollar heists, price fixing, and asset seizures are just a part of doing business. That’s because about 75% of the world’s maple syrup comes from Quebec, Canada—and is governed by the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup, an organization the New York Times described (paywall) in August as “effectively a cartel.”

But this could be the year for Americans to stand up for a free maple syrup market.

As the Times explained, the federation has been Canada’s only wholesaler of the liquid gold since 1990. It is supposed to do for maple syrup, a volatile commodity, what OPEC does for oil. In high production years, it stores the surplus syrup to sell in low production years. But since 2004, its control has expanded. Under the current system, the federation dictates not only who can make the syrup, but also how much they can sell and at what price.