TORONTO - The lower loonie is putting more money in the pockets of Canadian Christmas tree exporters this year.

Canada shipped more than 1.5 million trees to the U.S. last year, according to Statistics Canada.

With the loonie hovering below 90 cents U.S., Canadian tree growers -- who sell their trees in U.S. dollars -- are expecting to see their revenues climb higher this year.

The Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia says its exporters are expecting to earn 10 to 15 per cent more per tree this year thanks to the lower loonie.

And that's as the industry is preparing to ramp up production to meet an anticipated surge in demand from south of the border.

Population growth in the U.S. is expected to create a demand for 10 million additional Christmas trees over the next three to five years, and Canadian exporters are hoping to fill the gap.