This figure is a line graph with the y-axis representing the dollar value of imports in increments of ten thousand dollars starting with one million dollars and moving up to ten billion dollars. The values are plotted on a logarithmic scale. The x-axis represents the year from 2001 on the left through to 2005 on the far right.
Trade data for 2001 to 2005 were used to examine imports to Canada of materials that might have the potential to introduce invasive plants. These included: live animals; live plants, including cut flowers and ornamental foliage; edible vegetables and roots; edible fruits and nuts; seeds, fruits, and spores for sowing; cereal straw and husks; hay, fodder, and forages; vegetable plaiting material such as rattan; and wood products.
There are eleven lines across the graph each representing a region of the world where Canada imports materials with the potential for the introduction of an invasive plant. The graph indicates that value of imports into Canada are greatest, from the top of the graph to the bottom of the graph, from the United States, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Western Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, Middle East, Oceania and Australasia, Eastern Europe and finally Russia and central China.
An average $8.44 billion worth of these products were imported into Canada each year during the period 2001 - 2005. The United States is by far the largest source, representing 67% of the total value of imports over the five-year period. Central and South America and the Caribbean together form the second major source, with 16.1% of the total value, while Western Europe was the source of 6.2% of the total.