Christmas tree shortage expected to drive up prices — with Balsam firs primed to hit $200

“There is a major shortage,” said Judy Clark, manager of the East End Garden Centre in Toronto, which has already begun selling Christmas trees. “Christmas tree prices have gone up at least 15 to 20 per cent in the last three years and part of this is because of added costs caused by inflation and transportation fees. “That 20,000 acres that we’ve lost in those 10 years is equivalent to 30 million trees,” she said. Seedlings are seedlings today but then you need eight to 10 years to get them into a Christmas tree,” Kapy said. Robert Bartoletta, who runs the family owned Santa’s Choice Christmas Tree Farm in Orangeville, said shoppers looking to keep costs down should look for less popular species of Christmas trees.