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SINGAPORE – For some families celebrating Christmas, having a real tree under which to put gifts is at the top of their wish list.
But those who long for festive foliage to spruce up their homes this year may be disappointed.
With Covid-19 slowing down leisure travel and causing shipping delays, demand for Christmas trees appears to be outstripping supply.
At least six of the nine nurseries and retailers The Sunday Times spoke to last week said their Christmas trees were out of stock.
Others had been left with very limited stocks.
A spokesperson for Dairy Farm, which oversees cold storage, said the trees were still available in stores, although they were selling quickly.
Ikea Singapore also said its live Christmas trees at its Alexandra and Tampines outlets had been sold out in less than two weeks.
Corona Florist & Nursery received 10-15 inquiries a day last month, with 40 clients competing for the last 10 trees available last Sunday.
Ivan Wee, 40, a retail manager for Island Landscape & Nursery, said his stock of 500 trees sold out in two days.
The overwhelming demand for Christmas trees has taken nurseries by surprise.
Many, including Far East Flora, Island Landscape & Nursery, and Ji Mei Flower, brought a similar number of trees last year.
According to the National Parks Board, about 9,900 Christmas trees had been imported into Singapore last Monday, a slight increase from the 9,800 imported in the same period last year.
“We were expecting a reduction in demand due to Covid-19,” said Ms. Sharon Goh, director of Candy Floriculture, who is in her 60s. “But it seems that all the residents have started to buy a tree as they are staying in Singapore and unable to travel.”
Supply bottlenecks caused by Covid-19 can also put customers at risk of missing their Christmas trees.
“We ordered about 200 trees this year, but some of it had to be returned to our suppliers,” said Mr. Cedric Tay, 26, a store assistant at Song Lang Garden.
“The trees had spent too long in the containers and they were not in optimal condition,” he explained.
Christmas trees are the latest victim of a Covid-19 shipping crisis that is causing shipping delays.
Ports around the world see ships docking for longer than in pre-pandemic times, said associate professor Goh Puay Guan of the National University of Singapore Business School.
“Port congestion could occur for various reasons, such as safe work measures that could reduce the number of workers allowed,” he added.
Inspections of cargo or crew could also slow down the shipping process.
Meanwhile, the demand for shipping is increasing due to various factors, such as retailers that have started restocking inventory for the holiday shopping season, said Onur Boyabatli, associate professor of operations management at Singapore Management University.
Still, ships may not be able to increase their shipping volume in time for Christmas.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, due to large drops in demand for maritime cargo, carriers dramatically reduced the capacity of the vessels. They overreached and … they are trying to increase capacity … but it takes time,” he said Professor Boyabatli.
These challenges haven’t deterred some customers from hunting down a Christmas tree to decorate the aisles before December 25.
Buying a tree is an annual ritual for Australian Alex Rankin and his wife, who will be spending Christmas here this year.
Rankin, 34, who works in the tech industry, had to put aside plans to visit his family in Hong Kong after the Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble was delayed until next year.
“In the nurseries we visited, there were tree lines that had been reserved,” he said. “We even joined WhatsApp groups of 50 or more people to hunt a tree.”
Ms Janie Wong, Marketing Manager for Ji Mei Flower, said that demand has definitely increased as more people, including expats, remain in Singapore due to travel restrictions.
However, increased demand from individuals is welcome at a time when nurseries have fewer corporate clients.
“Many hotels (are) becoming stay-at-home sign locations, so they don’t decorate hotels elaborately,” said Ms. Goh of Candy Floriculture.
Gracelyn Lin, Executive Director of Sing See Soon Floral & Landscape, said: “Due to the uncertainty about when phase three will begin, many hotels and restaurants have not been able to budget how much they wanted to spend on decorating their facilities, and many only deciding now order Christmas trees. “
Ms. Zenn Soon, 38, did not originally plan to buy a Christmas tree to decorate her cafe, Wakey Wakey, of which she is a co-owner. He decided to do it after many of his clients asked for one and even offered to dress the tree.
“Everybody needs a little Christmas cheer,” he said. “It has been a difficult year.”
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