Drought losses set to push up Christmas tree prices

Drought-related losses among newly planted Christmas trees are expected to push prices higher in the coming years, ORF reported. The losses vary across Austria, with Lower Carinthia particularly affected.

Between 30 and 50 percent of new plantings in Lower Carinthia have been lost, said Gerhard Plesnik, head of the Carinthian Christmas Tree Growers Association. Losses were greater in Lower Austria, where more than half of new trees died, and highest in Burgenland, at up to 90 percent.

The impact on supply will emerge only in a few years because the affected young trees were due to be sold in five to eight years. Growers do not expect shortages this Christmas.

To cope with future dry spells, growers are increasingly using irrigation, giving each tree about half a litre of water, Plesnik said. They are also considering hydrogel, a plastic material that stores water and releases it gradually to plants. “That is not a permanent solution,” he said.

Dead trees will be replanted next year, but the losses will set producers back by at least a year.