Christmas Trees Going Expensive In The US!!!

While "It's the tradition and the smell" is what we hear about the Christmas trees, this tradition and the smell is getting costly in the United States, day by day. But has the increased prices anything to do with the demand?

BY HARSHIT GUPTA | 2 Mins Read

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" You often might have heard this saying when someone is talking about Christmas. Christmas, the festival of joy. You decorate your house, put out Christmas lights, make eggnog, plum cake, and other delicious feastings, put out milk and cookies. But one important center of attraction is "the Christmas tree". Yes, the big green fur tree, decorated with lights, ribbons, and little Santa figures. But to get that green tree in the United States of America, one might have to spill a lot of green.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association which rolls out a report every year, the average cost of a real tree was as high as 78 US Dollars in 2018. In 2017, it was around 76 US Dollars. This may not seem like a huge increase in one year. But it is a huge increase from recent years. The price of an average Christmas tree in 2015, was 50.82 US Dollars, and in 2014, the same was available for 39.50 US Dollars.

But one would ask, what is the reason behind the big price tags? There are a few reasons. Trees like Fraser Firs take about 7-14 years to reach a height of about 6-7 feet. It also takes around two years to harvest an acre of these trees. Now, during the 2008 Recession period, the demand for Christmas trees went down drastically. This concluded to farmers planting lesser number of trees. Due to less trees planted during that period, there is a deficiency in the supply of Christmas trees today. And due to the law of Demand and Supply, there is a substantial increase in the prices.

But even after all of this, there is still a good demand of Christmas trees. The year 2018 witnessed a record sale of 33 Million trees. Even in 2019, according to the New York Post, one Manhattan Christmas tree dealer, Soho Trees, is selling a 20-foot Fraser Fir for a whopping $6,500. That means the tree is $325 per foot. While this may be as strange as this sounds, the tree farm of that size is currently sold out.

However, there is one important factor deciding the prices of Christmas trees. Christmas trees tend to be elastic by price and the time you're buying them is very crucial. According to a survey, the average price is highest on Cyber Monday i.e. the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. This price eventually comes down with the prices being lowest on Christmas Eve.

In conclusion, the wholesale prices of the trees have gone up. While this is beneficial for the growers, the buyers feel the price wrath. But even after such prices, people can't resist on celebrating the joyous holiday without the Fraser scent.