A shortage of Christmas trees in Denmark, Europe's top exporter, twined with strong demand, threatened 10 to 15 percent jumps in fir prices across the continent, Danish producers said on Monday. "There are not enough Christmas trees to satisfy growing demand in Denmark and the rest of Europe, which explains the expected rise and comes on top of a similar rise last year," president of the Danish Christmas tree growers' association Kaj Oestergaard told AFP.
Other major producers such as Germany, France and Austria have reported the same trend, according to Oerstergaard.
The shortage was caused by "overproduction during the late 90s in Europe and the losses that followed, especially for Danish producers who until 2004 drastically reduced planting," Oestergaard said.
Danish exports only became profitable again in 2005, which encouraged producers to increase planting. But it takes between seven and 10 years for a tree to be ready for sale.
Denmark produces between eight and nine million Normann Firs annually, 90 percent of which are exported within Europe, primarily to Germany, Britain, France and Austria.
Sales in 2005 stood at around 1.2 billion kroner (204 million dollars, 160 million euros), with exports accounting for 1.1 billion of this amount.
The average cost of a two-metre Normann Fir, considered the "Rolls Royce of Christmas trees", would be between 250 and 300 kroner this season, compared to 200 to 250 kroner last year, Oestergaard said.
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