With turkey leftovers packed away, thousands of Massachusetts residents shifted gears yesterday and embarked on the annual quest for a Christmas tree. But in addition to garden gloves and rope for securing Fraser firs to roof racks, the state says tree shoppers will need something else this year: a little extra cash.
State agricultural officials are predicting a rise in the cost of Christmas trees that could be as great as 20 percent. There are several reasons for the rise, including increased fuel prices, added demand, and a weak dollar that makes trees imported from Canadian farms more expensive.
"Altogether, the prices are going to be a little higher this year," Scott J. Soares, acting commissioner for the Department of Agricultural Resources, said yesterday after encouraging residents to purchase from local farms. "Not only for fuel coming in, but the cost of fuel for [local] farmers to trim the trees, add fertilizer, and such. I wouldn't be surprised if a $5 to $10 cost would be seen out there."
Last year, 28.6 million real Christmas trees were sold in the United States at an average price of $40.50, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. Americans also bought 9.3 million fake trees at an average price of $68.
The average cost of a tree last year was 27 percent higher than in 2001, when trees cost $31.90. In a spot check of tree retailers in Massachusetts, tree prices ranged yesterday from about $25 for a 5-foot balsam fir to nearly $100 for a 10-foot Fraser fir.
Consumers may fret about the cost of gas or milk, but the price point of a Christmas tree is not something they tend to worry about, judging from interviews with a handful of customers yesterday. Those interviewed didn't remember what they paid for their tree the year before. It is also not a purchase they want to skimp on, particularly with children standing by.
"It's once a year," said Donna Crockett, 34, of Quincy, who yesterday took her 5-year-old son, Nick, for a preliminary look at trees (she plans to buy after Dec. 1). "I'm going to get that tree no matter what. Telling a little boy you're not going to get a tree, how are you going to do that?"
At Lambert's Rainbow Fruit, which nearly 50 years ago started selling Christmas trees out of a Dorchester parking lot, there has been a dramatic rise in transportation costs in recent years. About six years ago, it cost 50 cents per tree to ship the trees from two Canadian farms. This year, it costs $2.
"Eighty percent of the people who come here have been coming here all their lives," said co-owner Danny Lambert. "The other 20 percent, they don't even look at the prices."
Because the store has opened at five new locations and increased its order to 28,000 trees, the cost to purchase the trees has gone down enough through volume discounts to offset the increased shipping costs and prices, he said.
At Trombetta's Farm in Marlborough, which imports about 1,000 trees from Quebec, trees are running about 10 percent more this year. "The dollar is a little weak, fuel prices have gone up, and supply and demand has affected it," said owner Charlie Trombetta. "It has gone up a little bit. But what hasn't gone up?"
Local farmers, most of whom grow their own trees and allow visitors to choose and cut their own, say the price fluctuations generally don't affect them as much as retailers who must bring in their trees from around the United States or import them from Canada. Their operations are smaller, and only massive increases in fuel prices or fertilizer would cause them to raise Christmas tree prices. Their big fear: bad weather.
"If you get a blizzard on one of the bigger weekends, that's not good for anybody. That's probably the single biggest headache," said Peter Sweet, president of the 120-member Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association and owner of Seekonk Tree Farm in Great Barrington.
Massachusetts tree farmers sell about $1.8 million in Christmas trees annually, according to state estimates, and Worcester County ranks first with 69 farms and more than $500,000 in gross sales. The state is in the middle of the pack nationally - 24th in production, with 72,522 trees harvested; 26th in acreage, with 2,947; and 15th with 408 farms.
Oregon is by far the top producer nationally in terms of trees harvested (6.5 million) and acres planted (67,800), while Pennsylvania leads with the number of Christmas tree farms (2,164), according to 2002 statistics collected by the National Christmas Tree Association.
The Canadian trees at Lambert's yesterday seemed to suit the early shoppers just fine.
"We're not looking for the best, and we're not looking for the worst," said Jack Carpenter, 36, of South Boston, who shopped with his wife, Tami, at Lambert's in Dorchester.
After several minutes of browsing - and holding the tree up for close inspection - they ended up with a 6-foot $40 Balsam fir. They loaded it atop their Volvo and drove home happy.
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.
