Lower loonie boosts Christmas tree profits
Digital Reporter
Sunday, December 21, 2014, 3:57 PM -
CHRISTMAS STORM: The when and the where
According to Statistics Canada, the country shipped more than 1.5 million trees to the United States last year, bringing in about $55.2 million.
Now, with the loonie hovering below 90 cents U.S., Canadian tree growers -- who sell their trees in U.S. dollars -- are expecting to see their revenues increase this year.
The Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia says its exporters will earn 10 to 15 per cent more per tree this year, according to the organization's industry coordinator, Colette Wyllie. For balsam firs, which grow abundantly in Nova Scotia, that could mean an extra $2-3 per tree.
And that's as the industry is preparing to ramp up production to meet an anticipated surge in demand from south of the border.
Population growth in the U.S. is expected to create a demand for 10 million additional Christmas trees over the next three to five years, and Canadian exporters are hoping to fill the gap.
CLICK BELOW TO WATCH: "Ugly" Christmas tree sparks public protest.
Files from The Canadian Press