Christmas trees in the United States are in short supply and prices are rising this year, in part because of a decline in Christmas tree planting as a result of the financial crisis a decade ago.

The national Christmas tree association says Christmas tree prices are up 5% to 10% from last year; data show that Christmas tree prices have more than doubled since 2008.

Doug Hendry, spokesman for the National Christmas Tree Association, told the Los Angeles Times: "this year there is an imbalance between supply and demand. Supply is tight. Hendry and some experts say one of the reasons for the shortage of Christmas trees is the financial crisis and the resulting economic depression.

The subprime mortgage crisis broke out in the United States in 2007. Before the crisis, tree growers in Oregon and North Carolina, the main suppliers of Christmas trees in the United States, predicted that demand would grow; after the crisis, sales plummeted and Christmas trees were in large surplus. This has led to a sharp decline in the number of Christmas trees planted, says Sal Landgren, a professor at the extension Service Center at Oregon State University and a Christmas tree expert.

"people leave the industry and we [the industry] shrink. "said Landgren.

Between 2010 and 2015, the planting area of Christmas trees in Oregon decreased from 23168 hectares to 16682 hectares.

Many people turn to other more profitable crops. According to the Wall Street Journal, some tree farmers in Oregon have switched to wine grapes.

Christmas trees need to grow for years before they appear on the market; they were planted less many years ago, and the consequences have been apparent in recent years.

The deteriorating natural environment and higher fuel prices for transport vehicles have also led to a decline in the number of Christmas trees and a rise in prices, the Los Angeles Times reported.