The Wall Street Journal reported that trees in Hong Kong this year are selling for as much as $2,167. And that’s for a tree that is merely eight feet high. Six-foot trees are selling for around $1,500, and bunches of branches put together to look like knee-high Christmas trees are selling for $100.
Meanwhile, Christmas tree shoppers in the U.S. are paying more than usual for smaller-than average trees. The pandemic has fewer people traveling this year, some of whom are opting to buy trees when they usually don’t, adding to the “Christmas tree shortage.”
A local Minnetonka Christmas tree lot has been providing trees to eager Minnesotans since 1981. Timber Bay Camp and Retreat Center, where the Christmas tree lot stands, is a nonprofit, faith-based youth program. The Timber Bay tree lot began as a way to raise money for gas to transport kids to the camp, and now 100 percent of the proceeds each year go toward supporting Minnetonka youth.
In 1975, shortly before Timber Bay began to sell trees, a Norway Pine cost $3.99. A higher-end tree, like a Balsam Fir, cost $16-$18.
Now, a 3-4 foot “budget tree” costs about $20, and a higher-end tree that stands 8-18 feet high costs between $106-$300. But if you’re Christmas tree shopping in Hong Kong this year, be on the lookout for that $2,000 tree.
Rose Williams
Rose Williams is an assistant editor for Alpha News.
