Christmas is a little over two weeks away, and for most Swiss homes, a festively decorated Christmas tree is part of Christmas. And little by little, hardware stores and marketplaces are starting to fill up with freshly cut fir trees.
Although many consumer goods are becoming more expensive due to high inflation, the price of Swiss-made Christmas trees is not expected to increase. This is reflected, for example, in the unchanged price recommendation of the Swiss Christmas tree manufacturers association “IG Suisse Christbaum”.
A target price for sellers is 28 to 35 francs for a 1.6 to 2 meter tall scarlet fir and 60 to 80 francs for a Nordmann fir of the same size. The association brings together about 250 manufacturers.
Major Swiss distributors also expect stable price developments. Migros says on demand that it “does not expect any major changes compared to the previous year”. The price in German-Swiss cooperatives should vary between 19.90 and 139 francs.
Prices at Coop and its DIY subsidiary Jumbo will not change this year. A spokesperson said only “slight price adjustments” would be made for organically produced trees.
According to a spokesperson, only Landi will raise prices slightly due to the “current economic and purchasing situation”. Since the demand for Christmas trees cannot be met by domestic production alone, Landi purchases half of the trees from abroad, primarily from Denmark.
Florian Landolt, head of communications and policy at the Swiss Forest Owners Association, said that because the Swiss trees market is fairly conservative, there are usually no big price increases. This is mainly due to long business cycles. A Christmas tree sold this year was planted nearly 20 years ago.
Also, many forestry businesses are not primarily profit-oriented. Instead, they would also perform multiple sovereign duties, such as water filtration, avalanche protection, or local recreation, according to Landolt. The Christmas tree business is often not the main job for most foresters and does not determine financial success. Landolt said the Christmas tree sale is “a good opportunity to introduce yourself and exchange ideas with the public.”
Meanwhile, most of the Christmas trees could withstand the record heat of the summer months. “Because of their very deep root system, they were largely spared,” Landolt continued. Although some young trees have dried up, they can be replaced. Therefore, the “Christmas tree market” is not under threat.
(SDA)