Christmas tree shortage expected

A SHORTAGE of foreign Christmas trees will mean bad news for shoppers in Worcestershire, but could spell good news for local farmers.

Fewer trees being inported from Denmark this year, means prices in Britain are expected to soar.

The shortage of Nordmann Fir trees, the most popular because they do not shed their needles, is due to farmers in Denmark no-longer receiving EU subsidies.

With no subsidies, the farmers cannot afford to grow the trees, and have ploughed up their fields.

Nick Beard, farm manager of Leigh Sinton Christmas Trees, in Lower Interfield, near Malvern, said his prices would be increasing.

“Everyone assumes you can always go and buy a tree at Christmas, but this year people will get a shock because there will not be enough and the prices will be higher,” he said. “Unless Denmark gets planting quickly this problem is going to continue.”

Only 300,000 of the trees will be imported into Britain in December, compared with the usual 1.2 million.

Mr Beard said the shortage was not just due to the retraction of subsidies from Danish farmers.

“Five years ago in Denmark they had a huge glut of growers, then over the years prices dropped because there were too many growers,” Mr Beard said. “Because prices were low they stopped planting.

“The third factor is the price of land in Denmark has gone up to the equivalent of £13,000 an acre, in the UK the cost is around £4,000. It is very expensive to farm over there.”

Mr Beard predicts growers across Britain will be clambering to plant Nordmann Fir saplings in the spring.

But because the trees take six to seven years to grow to full height it will not be a quick fix.

“I think the next five to six years are going to be really strong for the tree industry until the market gets flooded again, Mr Beard said. “We are going to be planting a lot of the trees, if you do not do it you maybe left stranded.”

John Harper, of Top Barn Christmas Trees, in Holt Heath, Worcester, said: “It should not affect us at all because most of the trees we sell are our own. However, for the few we buy in I am already being quoted a large increase in price. They will be about £5 more than last year, an increase the buyer will have to bear.”