Svein Erik Berge (49) has established his permanent Christmas tree business on Vestkanttorget for the tenth year in a row. He has invested 250 000 kroner in this year's pile of Christmas trees, and according to reports, it is seller's market for Christmas trees this year,
Steinar Haugse, in the organization for Norwegian Christmas tree producers Norwegian Pyntegrønt thinks it may be a shortage of Christmas trees this year. Norwegian manufacturers produce Christmas trees for 130-140 million kroner. In addition, there is big import market, especially from Denmark where Berge on Vestkanttorget has imported 1000 trees.
– I have picked out every single tree from the Danish producers myself, Berge says.
The cold weather has led to less trees on the market. While the Norwegian manufacturers are struggling to cover the Norwegian market, there are also some export to other countries.
– About 70 000 trees are exported to other countries annually. The question is whether there will be a reduction in exports this year, because of there already being a shortage, Steinar Haugse, says.