Ever wondered why pure maple syrup was so expensive?

Well apparently for each litre of pure syrup it needs the sap of 40 maple trees. All Canadian of course.

Source: A chef on television, but I have no reason to disbelieve this.

Here is a quote from a Vermont company, Morse Farms, on what it takes to make maple syrup.
"Old timers say that we get a run of sap for every day of January thaw. Most years we get a January thaw and its duration can be measured in one, two, or three days. The sugar season, which occurs mid March thru mid April, always consists of one, two, or three runs.

"On the average, it takes 40 gallons of maple sap to make 1 gallon of pure maple syrup. We drill 1 tap hole in each of our maple trees, which gives 10 gallons of sap in an average year. So, 4 maple trees, 40 to 200 years old, are needed to make one gallon of pure maple syrup.

"Maple sap is 2% sugar and weighs 8.35 lbs. per gallon
Maple syrup is 66.9% sugar and weighs 11 lbs per gallon
One gallon of maple syrup makes 7 lbs of maple sugar
Maple syrup contains 50 calories per Tablespoon
Corn syrup contains 60 calories per Tablespoon "