Unless demand falls off, a Christmas tree shortage is likely to continue because fewer trees are being planted and climate change is affecting their growth and survival. This tree at Chickadee Christmas Trees in Puslinch, Ontario has leftover decoration on it from a photo shoot.
Trees at Chickadee Christmas Trees in Puslinch, Ont. (James Dunne/CBC)
In Europe, meanwhile, the glut of the past few years seems to have split the market. Wholesalers and chains offer discount trees for next to nothing — less than 20 euros ($30) at most stores — while smaller farms, like Padua’s Azienda Agricola Berton Giuseppe, can charge more than three times the price for the same variety.
But Giuseppe Berton, the owner, says they can make their sales on the guarantee of quality.
“The grocery stores take the trees that are truly scraps, second-hand stuff,” he said. “It’s a completely different quality … They don’t really compete with us.”
It’s a strategy that appears, finally, to be working. European trees are still a long way off Canada’s prices — but after a decade in decline, the average cost of a tree is expected to rise by a few euros this year.
“We are still in the bottom of the curve,” Christensen said, “but we are going in the right direction now.”
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Publish date : 2024-12-17 20:00:00
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