Real Irish-grown Christmas trees will soon become a “prestige item” as growers are slowly exiting the market, industry experts say, writes Ayaat Yassin-Kassab.
On average, 45% of festive firs ordered are plastic, but in five or six years’ time, that statistic will be almost exactly reversed, according to tree farmer Joe Flynn.
Mr Flynn, chair of the Irish Christmas Tree Growers (ICTG) group, said a generation of Christmas tree farmers are growing older and struggling to find somebody to succeed them.
He said: “Based on the number of trees planted over the last ten years, which is roughly the length of the rotation, some farmers are too old to start a new rotation, including me.
“It’s been eight years since I planted trees because I don’t have anyone to succeed me.”
Mr Flynn explained that the number of trees planted in Ireland has been gradually diminishing over the last four or five years.
The ICTG had up to 100 members roughly ten years ago, but now numbers have dwindled to almost half that figure, he said, although there are still tens of non-member Christmas tree farmers.
Mr Flynn said: “The real tree is getting scarcer. The younger people today are not prepared to do physical work and no-one can blame them for that, it’s just the way things go.”
However, Mr Flynn believes that the dying-out of the festive fir, as sentimental as it is, will drive up prices and improve business.
He explained: “Instead of a relatively inexpensive Christmas staple, it’s going to be a luxury item.
“From a marketing point of view, prices will undoubtedly go up.”
Recent years have seen an increasing demand for real trees, with almost all orders having already been placed by November this year.
Andrew Hatton, a Co. Wicklow tree farmer, is expecting to sell 25,000 trees this year.
He said: “That’s a good number. Last year I sold around 23,000. Almost all of the orders will be out at this stage.”
Mr Hatton said the majority of his holiday evergreens go to the UK, with others being sent to Denmark or Belgium.
In Ireland, however, locally sourced trees are ever-popular and retailers such as Lidl and Aldi are offering competitive prices for non-artificial firs.
Both stores are selling 6ft-tall Irish-grown firs for €24.99, a steal compared with retailer Rathwood, whose cheapest real tree is a 5ft Wicklow mountain fir at €52.
However, Mr Flynn argues the difference in quality is vast.
He said: “You’re comparing apples with oranges. The trees that we wholesale for €25-30 are bigger, fuller, better shaped, higher quality.”
High-quality Irish trees also beat out their foreign competitors.
Mr Flynn said: “Our average tree would be far superior to anything that’s grown on the continent. Our farms are smaller, the climate is better.”
Part-time tree farmer Peter McDonald has had to shred all of his trees and leave his land lying fallow after the firs contracted a rust disease.
He said: “I might consider replanting but I doubt it. The margins are so small and I’ll be getting the same price as ten or 15 years ago.
“There’s a lot of hard work involved with it and the younger generation is not prepared to do that.
“The industry is going a more corporate route, meaning larger companies with very, very large plots.
“The smaller grower with 10,000 or 15,000 trees can’t afford the machines that take the back-breaking work out of it and if you can’t do it on a large scale, it’s not worth the money.”
While commercial-scale tree growing does not pose a threat to the quality of Christmas evergreens, the smaller family businesses might become obsolete, said Mr McDonald.
Multi-award-winning Wicklow grower Christy Kavanagh is more optimistic, although he acknowledges the lack of industry successors.
He said: “People are making a living easier now. Young men and women, they don’t necessarily want to go out and dirty their hands.”
He added: “We have to keep positive, it’s a beautiful job.”
A twice chairman of the ICTG with 25 years in the business, Mr Kavanagh is confident his daughter Niamh, 25, and his son Connor, 21, will take over the lucrative family enterprise.
He said: “I’m not worried because I’ve got my son and a daughter. We do our pumpkin patch in October.
“You come and pick a tree and get a complimentary pumpkin. Then, at Christmas, we deliver the tree to your door.
“I’d encourage local farmers to do things like that.”
A spokesperson for Aldi said: “Our Irish-sourced Christmas trees start at just €24.99, providing affordability without compromising on quality.”
A Lidl spokesperson said its trees are sustainably grown and 100% Irish.
