Growing pains: Rising costs push up Christmas tree prices in Hungary

Christmas tree prices in Hungary are rising this year, driven by years of higher fuel, fertilizer and transport costs. For many families, the season brings joy but also financial pressure.

The trees come from quiet villages near the Croatian border, where rows of Nordmann firs stretch across open fields, and the work begins long before December. Each year these fields produce hundreds of thousands of trees sold across Central Europe, filling homes and public squares while helping set the holiday mood.

What looks simple in December takes years to prepare, as most trees need close to a decade to grow, with farmers planting, trimming and protecting them through heat, drought and frost.

"Everything costs more now, and finding workers during the harvest has also become difficult because many farms need people at the same time," says Attila Kusnyár, a Christmas tree farmer.

"The cutting season runs from November 15 to December 10, and the work has to happen within that window."

On his farm more than 35,000 trees are growing, and Kusnyár sells about 2,000 each season. He said costs rose sharply this year, in some cases by up to 30 percent.

"The cost of fertilizer and labor has gone up, which raises production costs," Kusnyár says. "It needs constant care, and maintaining the trees costs more so that added expense shows up in the final price."

Climate conditions add to the strain, with extreme heat hitting farms in spring and summer, while late frosts damaged young trees, and some growers lost part of their harvest.

Every Christmas tree needs about eight years to grow before it's ready to cut, meaning water, labor, fertilizer costs and years of care all add to the final price. Growers say all of that is pushing prices higher, and drought, heat and late frosts have made it harder to keep trees healthy, adding pressure across farms.

Higher costs continue at the market level, where sellers face higher wholesale prices and transport costs also rose this year, tightening profit margins.

"Producers are selling trees for about 15 to 20 percent more this year, but they are not making more money," says Zoltán Pahi, a Christmas tree seller. "It simply costs more to produce them, and shipping alone costs me nearly 35 percent more than last year."

Pahi has sold Christmas trees for nearly eight years, and this season he chose not to raise retail prices, absorbing the added costs himself.

"Out of respect for our customers, we decided to absorb those extra costs this year, even though it puts more pressure on us," Pahi says.

Despite the challenges growers say supply remains stable, with irrigation helping many farms during the summer, so most trees kept their color and scent, and their shape held through the season.

Prices may be higher this year but growers hope tradition still holds, expecting trees to bring families together, as the lights may still outshine the cost.