Early demand for Christmas trees fueled in part by pandemic

This holiday season Christmas trees began flying off lots and choose-and-cut farms well before Thanksgiving and sold out in many areas weeks before Christmas Day.

The North Carolina Christmas tree industry is big business: 850 growers producing about 50 million trees, and ranks second in the nation for number of trees harvested. 2020 was a banner year, and 2021 is shaping up to be another, with robust sales but more than ample supply.

North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Tony Haywood says trees selling out quickly the past two years has been a natural result of pent-up demand beginning earlier in the season, fueled in part by COVID-19.

"I think a lot of what is driving this is people are looking for an excuse and opportunity to go do something outside that's with some family," says Haywood. "And I think the strong market sales, people shopping early are really driving factors for this."

And the high demand for native Fraser firs is not limited to the Tar Heel state. In October, a 20-footer from Ashe County was chosen for the official White House Christmas tree.