The market for live Christmas trees in Ukraine is shrinking rapidly: Sales have fallen to a record low.

According to ТСН: The tradition of setting up a live Christmas tree for the New Year in Ukraine is gradually losing its popularity. This year's season has again shown a decline in both the supply from forestry agencies and the demand from buyers: The market has been shrinking for the fifth year in a row.

The State Forestry Agency has prepared a total of 991 thousand Christmas trees for sale in 2025, which is 8% less than last year and more than twice as few as in 2021, when it was planned to sell over 2 million trees.

Even these reduced amounts have been too large for the modern buyer.

Decline in Demand

• By mid-December 2025, only 39.9 thousand trees had been sold.

• That is 11% less than in the same period last year.

For comparison: In 2021, over 445 thousand trees were sold in the season, while the number last year was 153.7 thousand. Current trading pace suggests that the final result will be even more modest.

Leading Regions in Christmas Tree Cultivation

Two regions remain the leaders in the harvest of New Year trees, providing a third of the total supply in the market:

1. Vinnytsia — has prepared 187 thousand trees (19% of the total).

2. Zhytomyr — 142 thousand trees (14%).

The Zhytomyr region also has the largest areas for growing coniferous trees — here, 640 hectares are designated, where about 1.9 million trees are growing.

The declining interest of buyers leads to the reduction of specialized plantations. The total area where conifers are grown in Ukraine is 2753.5 hectares, which is 35% less than in 2021.

Illegal Logging

In some regions, the decline looks particularly dramatic. In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the area has reduced from 9.6 hectares in 2021 to 1.7 hectares in 2025. The total stock of trees is also decreasing: from 12.4 million in 2021 to 7.8 million today.

Against the backdrop of the decline of the legal market, the number of cases of illegal logging has also significantly decreased. When the 'black loggers' see no demand, they do not destroy the forest.

By early December 2025, only 34 cases of illegal logging had been registered, a third of which occurred in the Kharkiv region. For comparison: last year there were almost ten times as many cases — 328.

We remind you that we previously reported on what to do to keep a live Christmas tree fresh and in good shape for longer.

The decline in demand for live Christmas trees in Ukraine is largely related to economic realities and a change in consumer preferences. People are increasingly choosing alternatives that do not require tree cutting. This not only affects the market but also the environment, as the decline in demand may impact forest conservation and reduce illegal logging. There is also a decrease in the areas for growing coniferous trees, which could threaten this tradition in the future.