This year many European families risk having to celebrate Christmas without a Christmas tree. Mr Steinar Haugse from the Federation of Norwegian Christmas Tree Producers says that there is a shortage of about four million Christmas trees in Europe this year. Soon overproduction will be but a memory.

In Mr Haugse's opinion the shortage may last for many years to come. In recent years Danish Christmas tree producers have reduced their investments because of overproduction and subsequent low prices. It is obvious that this reduction will affect the Norwegian market. For several years Norway has imported considerable quantities of Christmas trees from our southern neighbour.
Mr Haugse estimates that this year Norwegian Christmas tree imports from Denmark will amount to about 400 000 trees. Danish producers prefer to sell on the Norwegian market, because they can get better prices than in several other European countries. Christmas tree sales in Norway amount to about ten million. In recent years silver fir has made up more than half of the market.
The future seems bright for Norwegian Christmas tree producers and Norway has natural advantages in this kind of production.
Christmas tree production requires a coastal climate, which is an advantage for Norway in comparison with several other European countries. We already have some exports to England and they are expected to increase in future years. According to Mr Haugse also Austria and Switzerland are current export markets where Norwegian Christmas trees are in great demand.