Christmas tree prices rise in Germany as supply shrinks
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By Isabella Jacobsen
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Christmas trees will cost more in Germany in 2026, the Christmas Tree Grower Council has announced. Growers say there will still be enough trees to meet expected sales, but fewer farms are growing them.
Christmas tree prices are going up
According to the Federal Association of Christmas Tree Growers (Bundesverband der Weihnachtsbaumerzeuger, or BVWE), the price of Christmas trees is expected to increase this year. Increases will vary by region, size, species, and seller.
The association expects blue spruce to cost 17 to 22 euros per metre, Norwegian spruce 14 to 19 euros, and the Nordmann for about 25 to 33 euros this season. The main harvest is set to start in mid-November.
“The price development is mainly due to higher production, staff and logistics costs, as well as a shrinking supply,” Saskia Blümel, managing director of the Association of Natural Christmas Trees, told Tagesschau.
Machinery, plant protection products, nutrients and energy costs are all more expensive, and logistics and wages stand out this year, according to the BVWE. Wages have also risen because trees need a lot of care throughout the year, and many tasks, from shaping the trees to tending the plantations, are still done by hand.
Number of German tree growers is shrinking
With around 23 to 25 million natural Christmas trees being sold in Germany each year, and about 80 percent of them grown domestically, the number of German growers largely decides how many trees are available.
Many growers are reducing their growing areas or stopping altogether, mainly because no one is taking over the farm or because they are using the land differently for economic reasons, according to BVWE.
As a result, the number of natural Christmas tree producers has been decreasing year by year. This reflects not only rising costs and labour demands, but also this summer's drought.
The trees that are already on sale remain unharmed; however, newly planted trees suffered losses, especially in southern Germany, due to the warmer weather. For example, a Nordmann fir takes eight to 12 years to reach sale size, so those losses will show up as missing trees in the coming years.
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Isabella Jacobsen is an assistant editor intern balancing her time between the IamExpat office and the lecture halls at the University of Amsterdam, where she is pursuing a Master’s in political journalism. Growing up moving between Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Dubai, Cyprus, Denmark, and the Netherlands shaped a lifelong curiosity about how stories are told across different cultures. Before settling in Amsterdam, she earned her bachelor’s in media and communication from Erasmus University Rotterdam, which included an exchange semester studying journalism and broadcasting at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. Driven by a constant desire to learn and take on new challenges, she is always looking for the next angle to explore. Read more