Christmas tree prices will Rise with the need to Import popular evergreen species due to fires and over farming in the past several years. Several factors are contributing to the shortage of Balsam Fir, Blue Spruce, Fraser Fir, and Noble Fir trees this coming holiday season. GWD Forestry says that oversaturation of the Christmas tree market in previous years along with miscalculations in order totals were factors in last year's shortage. They expect the problem to grow this year.
Fewer American farmers are growing Christmas trees. When nearly a thousand farmer's were selling the seasonal trees, prices dropped causing the growers to lose money. Many of them were forced to find more profitable crops to plant the following years. Currently, GWD says the farmers number in the 600's; a drop of 30 percent in the past five years. That figure is staggering and shows the effect of low prices and too much supply. Now, the drop in growers is contributing to the shortage along with conditions brought on by Mother Nature.
Droughts and wildfires wreak havoc on tree supplies. Wildfires in California, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and several other U.S. states have diminished supplies even further. Over 100,000 acres of Christmas pine trees were wiped out from ravaging wildfires in the South over the past couple of years. Lower humidity rates caused the fires to spread further and faster. Combined with the compounded shortages, growers expect popular tree brands to be much smaller and thinner than consumers want.
Poor-quality seedlings are not helping the Christmas tree shortage. Farmers are struggling to replant new seedlings while caring for the crops that are left, but the damage will take time to overcome. The drought caused many seedlings to die. That means there are many less to plant. More fire-damaged land has taken away planting space exacerbating matters. Depleting supplies are keeping the quality of seedlings at a low level with improving conditions expected to take a decade or so.
How Canada is coming to the rescue of holiday lovers across the U.S./ The shortage is predicted to last for another eight years at least. The full regrowth cycle and rebounding can expect to take up to fifteen more years, according to the Canadian firm. With three major setbacks, the market is predicted to be meek for sales this year, but Canadian growers like GWD Forestry have heard the call from Christmas lovers in America, and they are poised to fill in the gaps.
GWD Forestry expects the price of Christmas trees to rise at least 10 percent, but this cost is much less than it could be because of farmers all across Canada. Companies in the north are partnering with clients as far south as Miami to fill orders for trees in 2017. The growers expect the next decade to be a profitable one for tree farmers in the United States and Canada as long as interest remains level or grows. A slump in sales in the northwest in prior years might prove an indicator of sluggish growth.
