WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Charles Schumer Tuesday announced a new plan to build a statewide bottling plant in Lewis County that would boost maple syrup production and create jobs. New York State currently lags behind industry leaders like Quebec and Vermont in maple syrup production, importing four times as much maple syrup as it produces, despite having nearly 200 million more maple trees.

With world-wide demand for maple products rapidly outpacing supply and prices at record levels, Upstate New York has a real opportunity to become a leader in the maple syrup industry.

In an effort to boost the local economy, create jobs and make Upstate New York the epicenter of a booming maple syrup industry, Schumer announced his support for Cornell University’s efforts to build a statewide maple syrup bottling center in Lewis County. Schumer pledged to support this effort through the appropriate appropriations and grant avenues in the United States Senate.

“The North Country stands ready and able to unleash the untapped potential of its maple syrup industry,” Schumer said. “With millions of maple trees just waiting to be tapped, we have a great opportunity to increase production and sales with a statewide bottling center right here in Lewis County. I will fight tooth and nail for this plant and other measures so that we can put Lewis County and the entire North Country on the map as the epicenter of the maple syrup industry.”

Across the North Country, including Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence, there are over 66 million maple trees with syrup-tapping potential, yet less than one percent of them are currently being used. Despite the staggering number of maple trees across Upstate New York, the U.S. imports four times as much maple syrup as it produces.