[ad_1]
Maybe it’s because people spend more time at home than usual. Or is it simply an attempt at encouragement at the end of a pandemic year, which for many has been heavier than in a long time. Whatever the reason, the industry testifies that Christmas trees sell better around the world than they normally do at this time of year.
Some people liken the Christmas tree fever to the toilet paper hysteria at the beginning of the pandemic.
– Someone offered me three times the price if I could get a Christmas tree. There’s definitely a covid panic, says Steve Watson, who sold his shares in a week, to the New York Times in Toronto, Canada.
Also plastic trees
It is difficult to find statistics at the national level. But in the United States, Christmas tree growers have testified about dwindling stocks, if they have any trees left. In Michigan, for example, some growers have seen a 50 percent increase in sales, according to the Michigan Christmas Tree Association.
– I’ve been in the industry for 46 years. I’ve never seen anything like it, producer Robert Reynolds tells NBC in Chesterfield, Virginia.
Good numbers are also reported for companies that sell plastic spruce.
Because the demand has been so great long before Christmas, some have expressed concern that Americans will be left without a fir tree. The industry was hit hard during the financial crisis, when many people were forced to save on everything that can be described as excess. Then the growers cut fewer trees, which in turn meant less space for new plants, which would have meant an increase in Christmas tree stocks today, a little over a decade later.
Spread hope
It is not just the festively hugging America that is experiencing the greatest craving for Christmas trees. In Europe there are also rainfall to markets and crops.
In the UK, a record number of Christmas trees were sold during the last weekend of November, according to the Christmas Tree Growers Association. According to the organization’s initial forecasts, sales have increased by more than 30 percent compared to the same period last year, and many customers are purchasing a Christmas tree for the first time.
“The Christmas tree is a ray of hope,” spokeswoman Heather Parry told The New York Times.
Similar stories are heard from producers and sellers in countries like Germany and France.
The mink scandal affects
Even in Denmark, which exports around 10 million of its 12 million Christmas trees, the hope of a lucrative season lives on. But closed borders have made trade difficult and prevented workers who often come from Eastern Europe from biting.
Producers are also concerned that Denmark’s reputation has been tarnished by the mink scandal.
– Customers have canceled because they do not dare to buy Danish fir trees because the coronavirus was discovered in mink. I think we will sell 30,000 to 40,000 fewer trees this year, says Jørgen Jokumsen, director of the Zenflora company, to TV2 Fyn.
Sofia Eriksson / TT
Between 3 and 3.5 million Christmas trees are consumed annually in Sweden. Most are grown in Sweden. Imports are made mainly from Denmark.
In Sweden, the Christmas tree is grown mainly on abandoned farmland. Growing Christmas trees has become more and more common in southern Sweden.
Spruces are harvested at 8-10 years.
Source: Nationalencyklopedin
[ad_2]
