Christmas tree surplus
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: Oh, Christmas trees, there are too many of you this year. So, growers are looking for new markets. Chris Lehman reports.
CHRIS LEHMAN: Nearly eight million Christmas trees are harvested each year in Oregon. Almost half of them go to California, but an increasing number end up even farther south in Mexico.
Thirteen percent of Oregon trees are sold there. It’s by far the largest foreign market.
Bryan Ostlund is director of the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association:
BRYAN OSTLUND: There’s an old adage in agriculture about new markets come in down times. And it was the late ’80s, early ’90s where there were a lot of Christmas trees on the market and it really sent growers scrambling to find new markets.
But international shipments are not without their headaches. The trees have to be thoroughly inspected for diseases and insects before they’re cleared for export. Other markets include Japan and the Philippines.
I’m Chris Lehman for Marketplace.
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