Real Christmas trees are in short supply this year and prices are on the rise. Sources: Radio 3AW, Blue Mountains Gazette, AAP
Owner of North Pole Christmas Tree Farm in Beveridge, Fabio Iuele, says “there’s a shortage of trees across Victoria and NSW and demand is sky-high”.
“We’ve had to cut back on our wholesale sales because the private direct to the public has just gone through the absolute roof this year.”
The Australian reports 2.7 metre trees are fetching $350 at Sydney’s Merlino’s Christmas Trees.
Challenging weather and rising fuel and fertiliser costs due to the war in Ukraine are being blamed for price hikes.
Mr Iuele says he’s had to put up his prices by $5 this year due to rising input costs. An eight-foot tree from North Pole Christmas Tree Farm costs $90, while a five-foot tree is $55.
“I have heard of prices going through the roof but we’re not going to do that,” he said.
Due to 2022’s extreme rainfall across NSW creating supply issues. Trees shorter than 182 cm are selling for up to $200, an almost 40% increase on previous prices from last year.
Sydney was hit by a third consecutive La Nina in 2022, recording more than 286mm of rain during its wettest October on record.
Merlino’s Christmas Trees in Sydney’s inner-west say the wet weather has wiped 40% of their crops this year.
“We had way too much water which caused a lot of root rot,” Robert Darrigo, from Merlino’s Christmas Trees, told AAP.
“It wasn’t a very warm year, so the trees didn’t grow as much.”
As such, trees taller than 240 cm will not be available for purchase this year despite popularity with customers.
The family-run business was forced to pull back on wholesale customers so they can serve locals who come into the store.
But Mr Darrigo expects they’ll have to shut up shop and turn customers away by the second week of December.
The Merlino Monterey Pine farms, located in Oberon and Ben Bullen in Central NSW, were lucky to avoid the 2020 bushfires but were struck by drought.
Running the farms has become even more difficult since petrol and fertiliser prices have gone up, Mr Darrigo said.
