‘There is a shortage of supply’: high demand for Christmas trees during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic | The Canadian News

BC Christmas tree farms are facing a double whammy of global supply chain problems and climate crisis-induced natural disasters, which means traditional Christmas decorations may be harder to find this year.

Oh Christmas Tree Farm opened in Langley on Saturday and there was no shortage of customers looking to buy premium fir trees.

“It takes 10 years to grow a good Christmas tree,” said farm owner Richard Davies.

“We are having a combination of supply chain problems and more people and fewer tree farms, so there is a shortage of supply.”

Christmas tree sales boomed last season as Canadians tried to lift the holiday spirit during the pandemic.

Due to incredible demand, Oh Christmas Tree Farm sold out in late November 2020, when Davies is normally sold until mid-December.

This year, it also hopes to liquidate its inventory by the end of the month.

“We’re opening early, you know, for demand and we’re going to close early,” Davies told Global News.

Even IKEA won’t be selling actual trees in its Canadian stores this Christmas season.

SFU Beedie School of Business assistant professor Feyza Sahinyazan believes that some trees were harvested prematurely and sold in 2020 to meet demand during the first year of COVID-19, which could contribute to this year’s shortages.

But like almost all global commodities, Sahinyazan said supply chain disruptions related to the pandemic, including blocked ports, container and labor shortages, combined with extreme weather events, are fueling the Christmas tree shortage. .

“Whatever is happening in the last 10 years actually has a cumulative effect on the supply of Christmas trees,” Sahinyazan told Global News.

“So if there was a heat wave in 2015, it is still affecting supply today.”

Retail strategist David Ian Gray said last summer’s heat dome and wildfires affected the growing season in the Pacific Northwest.

Artificial trees may be an alternative option, but Gray is hearing that some orders are being canceled due to the limited shelf life of the product.

“Retailers fear getting a delayed shipment and then getting stuck with trees for a year,” Gray said.

Delivery problems, he said, for both fake and live trees, were also exacerbated by recent floods and landslides that damaged key transportation networks in BC.

“They are going to be fixed, but just like a car accident on Highway 1, cars are cleaned, but it takes a long time before traffic returns to normal,” Gray told Global News.

Local growers suggest buying a freshly cut tree early and caring for it at home.

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

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