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A man dressed as Saint Nicholas stands beside an illuminated Christmas tree in the city center of Hamburg December 6, 2008
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A shortage of Christmas trees in Denmark, Europe's largest exporter, is driving up prices in a trend likely to last until 2012, producers said on Monday.
"Our producers got between 10 and 20 percent more for Nordmann trees this year," said Kaj Ostergaard, the head of the Danish Christmas Tree Growers Association.
The Nordmann, one of the most popular species because of the long life of its silvery needles, is selling in Copenhagen this year for 300 Danish crowns ($56) for a two-meter (six-foot six inches) specimen, 20 percent more than last year.
Denmark produced about 10 million Christmas trees this year, about 8.5 million of them earmarked for export. About half go to Germany, with Britain and France the next biggest buyers.
"The total production of Nordmann firs in Europe is about 30 million trees per year while the demand is 33 million to 35 million," Ostergaard said. "According to my calculations, demand will increase and supply will decrease until 2012."
The seeds of the shortage were sown between 1998 and 2004, when tree prices collapsed because of oversupply and some Danish growers switched to other crops.
Producers are now planting more trees, but a Nordmann needs 10 years to grow, so prices are likely to keep rising for the next three or four years before leveling out.
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(Agencies)
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圣誕樹生產商聯盟于本周一稱，由于歐洲最大的圣誕樹出口國丹麥目前出現貨源短缺，所以拉動了圣誕樹價格的上漲，這一走勢可能將持續至2012年。
丹麥圣誕樹種植協會負責人Kaj Ostergaard說：“今年高加索冷杉的價格上漲了10%至20%。”
高加索冷杉以其生命力十分旺盛的銀針葉而著稱，是最受歡迎的圣誕樹品種之一。今年高加索冷杉在哥本哈根的售價為每兩米（6英尺6英寸）300丹麥克朗（56美元），比去年上漲了20%。
今年丹麥共生產了約1000萬棵圣誕樹，其中850萬棵用于出口，其中約一半出口至德國，其次是英國和法國。
Ostergaard說：“全歐洲每年高加索冷杉的總產量約為3000萬棵，而需求則在3300萬至3500萬棵之間。按照我的估算，這種供不應求的局面將持續至2012年。”
丹麥圣誕樹供應不足的問題起源于1998年至2004年那段時期，當時由于圣誕樹供給過剩造成樹價狂跌，因此一些樹農轉種其它作物。
如今，樹農們又開始重操舊業，但一棵高加索冷杉成才需要10年，所以在有新的供給補充之前，圣誕樹的價格將持續上漲三四年。
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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