If you’re shopping for a pre-cut Christmas tree this year, expect to pay a little more than usual.
The National Christmas Tree Association’s Director Tim O’Connor says there’s a number of factors driving up Christmas tree prices in the state. The first is an increased demand for the trees among Millennial customers. The second is a shortage in the noble conifer:
“It takes 8-10 years to grow a tree. And when you think back 8-10 years ago, growers were not profitable, the economy wasn’t great, and they planted less trees back then. And so today, the trees that weren’t planted, are just not there.”
Jodi Utsman owns Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest in Eustis, Florida. She says they won’t run out of pre-cut trees because they ordered them from farmers in Michigan and North Carolina last June. But she says they’ve had to change their prices to reflect rising costs.
“Growers have increased prices on us on the ones we purchase from growers and the shipping costs have also risen. So the combination has driven the prices up a bit this year.”
The National Christmas Tree Association estimates about 2.7 million trees were sold across the country last year alone.
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