Sales of Irish-grown Christmas trees are on course to hit an all-time high over the festive season, as growers report unprecedented demand from domestic and export markets.
Sales of festive firs produced here reached record levels in the run-up to Christmas last year, with farmers noting that trade had more than doubled in the space of just 15 years.
But some growers have already predicted that the coming season could even eclipse 2024 bumper sales.
Christy Kavanagh, a multi-award-winning grower based in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, said: “The crop’s looking very good, and the trees have plenty of moisture after all the rainfall we’ve been getting, which is a big bonus.
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“We started harvesting over two weeks ago, and we’ve already sent a large batch over to England, where demand for Irish-grown trees has never been higher.
“I’ll be harvesting up to around December 12th, and in all we’ll supply about 15,000 trees, divided into six different species, to both the domestic and export market – with most of those going over to the UK. But there are already early signs that we’ll even outdo last year, and have our best-ever season.”
Mr Kavanagh, a former chairman of the Irish Christmas Tree Growers Association, also said he’d love to see more young people set up Christmas tree farms to help boost supply.
“Demand for real trees is increasing all the time. People, both here and in Europe, have moved away from plastic trees for environmental reasons. Here in Ireland, we’ve a growing population, and the country is affluent, so those are also contributing factors.”
There are about 40 growers in the Republic. Mr Kavanagh said Irish trees were of a higher quality than those in countries such as Germany and Denmark, and cheaper to import to the UK.
The Nordmann Fir accounts for about 75 per cent of festive firs grown in the State, with another 15 per cent made up by the Noble Fir and the remaining 10 per cent by several other varieties.
Co Wicklow is home to the highest concentration of Christmas tree farms, with large numbers also across Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny.
Two years ago, a long-running operation to safeguard Co Wicklow tree farms from robberies was axed. Operation Hurdle – seasonal initiative involving air patrols, high-visibility checkpoints and armed support units – was originally set up in 2012 in the county. However, with barely any thefts or raids reported in recent years, the operation was stood down.
