[ad_1]
“Oh Christmas tree, how faithful are your leaves.” This is what it originally said in a tragic love song from the 19th century. Around Christmas, not only this song, but also the conifers and their producers have their main season again. Every second Austrian Christmas tree grows in Lower Austria. The southern Waldviertel around Ostrong (Melk district) and the Danube area around Jauerling (Krems district) are the main growing areas due to its mild climate. Only 10 percent of the trees are imported, mainly from Denmark. The rest, with most of the 1.1 million trees in Lower Austria, grow in Austria.
With the help of the sale of Christmas trees, many small-scale farms in the country are de facto securing their livelihoods. “A farmer with 15 dairy cows once told me that he made 70 percent of his annual income from the sale of Christmas trees,” says Franz Raith, president of Lower Austria Christmas tree and ornamental branches 213.
Eight percent more sales possible
In total, Lower Austrian producers generate € 22 million per year. This year, due to the crown, an increase of five to eight percent is possible, says Karl Schuster, managing director of Lower Austrian Christmas Tree Builders. “There may be more consumers at home this year and therefore you need a tree. Then there could be almost 1.2 million trees. “
The price range of Christmas trees is usually between 10 and 30 euros per linear meter. This is because, for example, a two meter tall tree was between eight and 12 years old in the field.
“So the production costs are different and so are the prices. The denser, the more expensive, ”says Schuster. Some merchants with a small Christmas tree culture buy most of their trees abroad, mix imported ones with their own, but declare them all local. “Unfortunately, this is a big problem and also illegal because it is used to evade taxes,” says Schuster.
For several years now, one tree in particular has stood out: the Nordmann fir. As the most popular and best-selling Christmas tree, it originally hails from Georgia and began to triumph in Lower Austrian Christmas tree cultures through Denmark. “It is an absolute success: Nordmann fir has by far the most beautiful needles and the best needle behavior. It doesn’t dry as fast as regular fir trees, ”says Raith, who has been growing Christmas trees on his farm for more than 40 years.
Raith witnessed the triumphant advance of the Nordmann fir: “25 years ago we were still selling a lot of white firs, blue firs and silver firs. We had big trees. But the seeds have gone from bad to worse, ”says Raith. The rise of the Georgian Nordmann fir in recent decades also meant the decline of the other candidate Christmas trees (see information below): customer demand fell, as did the cultivation of the varieties. Nordmann fir trees provide good yields for small-scale cultivation and are also easier to care for and more resistant against pests. Furthermore, the growing conditions in Lower Austria are “absolutely ideal” and even “better than in Denmark because there is too much wind there and the needles don’t grow that much,” explains Raith.
Lower Austrian Christmas trees abroad
Lower Austrian Christmas trees also feature prominently in the spotlight abroad: either in 2019 at the European Parliament in Brussels or this year during military missions abroad. “To give moral support to our soldiers and thank them for their work, we are sending Christmas trees to the bases, which are supposed to bring a sense of home and the Christmas spirit to the world,” says the director of the Lower Austria Farmers Union , Paul Nemecek, and Lower Austrian Christmas tree builder Willibald. Greßl.
[ad_2]
