The price of domestically grown Christmas pines, which is the most popular variety, the imported Nordmann pine, may increase by 10-15 percent due to the exchange rate change, said the Interprofessional Organization of Hungarian Ornamental Gardeners to MTI.
The organization explained that the prices are expected to be as follows:
- spruce to HUF 3,000 per meter,
- silver pine to 4000-5000 forints,
- and Nordmann will cost 6,000 forints, but in many places, sellers set unit prices.
They are confident that the coronavirus epidemic won’t affect the willingness to buy, and that sales can go smoothly – they wrote, noting that 2-2.5 million trees are sold for Christmas in Hungary every year.
Much of the sales are changed in public spaces and online. The mini pines are sold in flower shops, shopping centers and DIY stores, especially the decorated sugar bottle pine – they added.
In Hungary, pine trees are grown on about 3,000 hectares, mainly in Vas, Zala and Somogy counties. Tree harvesting will begin in mid-November, first with globe pine trees followed by exports. Spruce is still supplied to Italy by growers, and the varieties are marketed in the surrounding countries and in the Romanian and Slovak markets.
Most of the imports come from Nordic pine, most of them from Denmark, and the volume of imports is 500-600 thousand pieces.
The Nordmann pine, which has been strong for many years, has been used by Hungarian farmers in the last 10 years. Silver pine has also been popular in recent years, and those looking for a traditional scent invariably choose spruce, which offer small options.
According to the organization, it’s advisable to buy pine trees from primary producers, in well-established, reliable sales outlets, because they are only cut down in December, so they are more durable and more beautiful.
(MTI)
