WASHINGTON – Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, lights and decorations aglow and a real Christmas tree in the living room.
Well, two out of three isn’t bad.
A shortage of real fir trees for Christmas will likely drive up prices and make finding a Christmas tree more difficult, according to the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association.
The Association blames the national tree shortage on the great recession of 2008. There was an over abundance of Christmas trees 10 years ago and so growers planted fewer trees to offset the overage.
Shoppers looking for that perfect spruce, pine or fir tree will have a harder time finding one and will pay more for it. Prices are expected to increase by as much as 10 percent this holiday season.
One South Carolina tree grower said prices could be 15 percent higher and the shortage, and subsequent higher prices, could last for the next four or five years.
Well, two out of three isn’t bad.
A shortage of real fir trees for Christmas will likely drive up prices and make finding a Christmas tree more difficult, according to the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association.
The Association blames the national tree shortage on the great recession of 2008. There was an over abundance of Christmas trees 10 years ago and so growers planted fewer trees to offset the overage.
Shoppers looking for that perfect spruce, pine or fir tree will have a harder time finding one and will pay more for it. Prices are expected to increase by as much as 10 percent this holiday season.
One South Carolina tree grower said prices could be 15 percent higher and the shortage, and subsequent higher prices, could last for the next four or five years.