Have you already secured a Christmas tree? If not, you might want to hurry up, or else you might just miss out!

Pine tree growers and sellers all around the country are warning Australians of possible fresh Christmas tree shortages. Record-high demand, mixed with lower yields due to environmental factors such as rain and fires have left farmers unable to keep up.

Customers from Victoria have also reported being forced to try multiple sources before being able to secure a tree.

Several media outlets have reported that holiday consumers should expect a shortage of Christmas trees due to the supply-chain crisis. Photo credit: AAP Image/James Ross.​

Alex Costa, owner of Victoria Christmas Tree Farm in Ballarat, said he was flooded with thousands of requests from wholesalers and customers but had to turn them all down. Had the supply been available, he estimated that he could have sold at least an additional 2,500 trees this year.

“Demand has gone through the roof,” said the tree farmer.

“I’ve had to knock back a lot of potential wholesale buyers, just because I’m struggling to look after the ones that I have now.”

One of Mr Costa’s loyal buyers is a local greengrocer, The Fruitmen in Cheltenham. However the owner, Roy Petherick, said even they have run out of trees.

“We’ve pretty much run out of stock now. I’ve got three trees left, and normally at this time, I would have about 50 or 60 left to sell,” admitted Mr Petherick.

“The people who leave their tree until basically a week before Christmas are going to be in real trouble, I reckon.”

Notably, Victoria’s tree shortage problem could be traced back to the state’s own good deeds; many Victorian tree farmers stepped up to help the supply grow back in NSW after the bushfires of 2019 and 2020.

“Obviously, the fires in NSW knocked out a lot of their pine plantations and then Queensland too with the tropical weather - they can’t grow them,” Mr Costa said.

“So a lot of the farmers down here help them out - they send them trees. But I think people have bitten off more than they could chew.”

Another issue is the unpredictable environment: the recent influx of rain affected the growth of the trees, leaving many not ready for this year’s festive season.

Though, many farmers are hopeful that more real pine trees will be available to go around in 2022 when the demand reduces as the pandemic subsides.

 

[CMC]

Aussies warned of possible Christmas tree shortage​

Have you already secured a Christmas tree? If not, you might want to hurry up, or else you might just miss out!

Pine tree growers and sellers all around the country are warning Australians of possible fresh Christmas tree shortages. Record-high demand, mixed with lower yields due to environmental factors such as rain and fires have left farmers unable to keep up.

Customers from Victoria have also reported being forced to try multiple sources before being able to secure a tree.

Several media outlets have reported that holiday consumers should expect a shortage of Christmas trees due to the supply-chain crisis. Photo credit: AAP Image/James Ross.​

Alex Costa, owner of Victoria Christmas Tree Farm in Ballarat, said he was flooded with thousands of requests from wholesalers and customers but had to turn them all down. Had the supply been available, he estimated that he could have sold at least an additional 2,500 trees this year.

“Demand has gone through the roof,” said the tree farmer.

“I’ve had to knock back a lot of potential wholesale buyers, just because I’m struggling to look after the ones that I have now.”

One of Mr Costa’s loyal buyers is a local greengrocer, The Fruitmen in Cheltenham. However the owner, Roy Petherick, said even they have run out of trees.

“We’ve pretty much run out of stock now. I’ve got three trees left, and normally at this time, I would have about 50 or 60 left to sell,” admitted Mr Petherick.

“The people who leave their tree until basically a week before Christmas are going to be in real trouble, I reckon.”

Notably, Victoria’s tree shortage problem could be traced back to the state’s own good deeds; many Victorian tree farmers stepped up to help the supply grow back in NSW after the bushfires of 2019 and 2020.

“Obviously, the fires in NSW knocked out a lot of their pine plantations and then Queensland too with the tropical weather - they can’t grow them,” Mr Costa said.

“So a lot of the farmers down here help them out - they send them trees. But I think people have bitten off more than they could chew.”

Another issue is the unpredictable environment: the recent influx of rain affected the growth of the trees, leaving many not ready for this year’s festive season.

Though, many farmers are hopeful that more real pine trees will be available to go around in 2022 when the demand reduces as the pandemic subsides.

Easy to find one in the bush areas where they are growing wild. Of course, councils will get on the bandwagon and put restrictions or charge for the public to cut one down anyway!! Councils are joykillers I even heard that some Councils are refusing to put up Christmas decorations in the public streets cos it would offend other cultures. I say bollocks to this!! Many other cultures are happy to embrace our culture and traditions. Beauracrats are so full of s....!!