Burgenland Christmas trees: regionality and sustainability for Christmas

Burgenland Christmas trees: regionality and sustainability for Christmas

Pre -Christmas time in Burgenland also means setting up Christmas trees in most households. A current assessment shows that in around three quarters of the 132,000 private households in Burgenland, natural trees are used to celebrate Christmas. In recent years, an impressive trend towards domestic production of Christmas trees has been determined, because 79,200 of the approximately 99,000 trees that are needed annually.

The Chamber of Agriculture of the Burgenland and Christmas Baupauer Josef Brunner recently published the impressive figures on Christmas tree production. Every year, around 115,000 Christmas trees in Burgenland are bred in five different districts, which easily covers demand. This message underlines the strong basis of the regional economy and the importance of local products.

sustainability and short transport routes

Another advantage of the domestic trees is the short transport route. While an imported tree from Denmark traces an average of over 1,000 kilometers, the domestic trees only have to travel about 20 kilometers to their destination. Sascha Sommer, chairman of the association "Burgenland Quality District Tree", emphasizes that this not only reduces the environmental impact, but also ensures a fresh and high quality tree.

Quality by seal of approval

The producers in Burgenland have come together in the “Burgenland Quality District Tree” association in order to promote the quality of their products together. This seal of approval, represented by a red-yellow origin loop, guarantees consumers that the trees come from environmentally friendly production and grow regionally.

Financially, the prices for a Christmas tree range between 20 and 30 euros per running meter this year, with the average price of around 25 to 26 euros per running meter. The demand for these trees has also increased in recent years.

Another aspect that illustrates the importance of domestic production is the demonstrable climate effect. According to Nikolaus Berlakovich, President of the Chamber of Agriculture, a hectare of Christmas tree culture binds up to 140 tons of carbon dioxide during the eight to ten years of production and ensures around 100 tons of oxygen. These environmental aspects make the regional trees particularly more attractive in times of growing climate awareness.

To ensure that consumers select freshened trees, there are simple tests to check the freshness. This includes the shaking test, in which a fresh tree does not lose any needles, the scratch test, in which the wood under the bark should still be moist, and the scouting, where no needles should also fall off. These simple methods help to ensure the quality of the tree.

For more information about the Burgenland Christmas tree production situation and an overview of the various tree producers, the website www.weihnachtbaum.at is available.