“Supply shortage there”: In the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christmas trees are in high demand

BC Christmas Tree Farm is facing the double blow of global supply chain issues and natural disasters caused by the climate crisis, which means that traditional holiday decorations may be more difficult to find this year.

Oh Christmas Tree Farm opened in Langley on Saturday, and there are many customers who want to buy quality fir trees.

1:44Looking for a Christmas tree in Kitsilano 60 years later

“It takes 10 years to plant a good Christmas tree,” said farmer Richard Davis.

“We have encountered supply chain issues and a combination of more people and fewer forest farms, so there is a shortage of supply there.”

As Canadians tried to enhance the holiday atmosphere during the pandemic, last season’s Christmas tree sales boomed.

Due to shocking demand, Oh Christmas Tree Farm sold out in late November 2020-Davis usually sells out in mid-December.

This year, he also hopes to clear the inventory before the end of the month.

1:49As people raise the spirit of the pandemic, Christmas tree sales surge

Davis told Global News: “You know, we opened up very early. In order to meet demand, we will close early.”

This holiday, even IKEA will not sell real trees in its Canadian stores.

Feyza Sahinyazan, assistant professor at SFU Beedie School of Business, believes that some trees are harvested too early and sold in 2020 to meet the first year of COVID-19, which may lead to a shortage this year.

But like almost all global commodities, Sahinyazan said that pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, including port lockdowns, container and labor shortages, coupled with extreme weather events, are exacerbating the scarcity of Christmas trees.

“No matter what has happened in the past 10 years, it will actually have a cumulative effect on the supply of Christmas trees,” Sahinyazan told Global News.

“So if there is a heat wave in 2015, it will still affect today’s supply.”

Retail strategist David Ian Gray (David Ian Gray) said that last summer’s high temperature dome and wildfires affected the growing season in the Pacific Northwest.

1:41Fire destroyed 1,000 trees at Gogo Christmas Tree Farm in Nanaimo

Artificial trees may be another option, but Gray heard that some orders have been cancelled due to the limited shelf life of the products.

“Retailers worry that they might delay shipments and then get stuck in the tree for a year,” Gray said.

He said that due to the recent floods and landslides that have disrupted the main transportation network throughout British Columbia, the delivery of fake and live trees has also become more complicated.

“They will be repaired, but like a car accident on Highway 1, you clean up the car, but it will take a long time for the traffic to return to normal,” Gray told Global News.

Local growers recommend buying freshly felled trees as early as possible and taking care of it at home.

“Put it in the water and it should last until maybe the New Year,” Davis said.

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