Summary

This survey quantifies the amounts of different plants and plant products traded into Sweden which may serve as pathways of entry for potential plant pests. Furthermore, data on the economic value of plants and plant products are reported, both in terms of production values as well as the value of trade from Sweden.

In total, the volume of traded plants and plant material into Sweden was on average slightly more than 12 million tons per year. Of this, by far the largest part was different types of wood products, 10 million tons, followed by fruit and other types of plant based food, 1.5 million tons. Propagation material for different production systems was in terms of weight a small proportion of the total volume of traded plant goods into Sweden, reaching only about 52 000 tons, it is however a rather large source of living plant material traded. For example, an annual average of 39 million seedlings of forest trees were traded to Sweden each year.

The amount of plants and plant material traded from Sweden totaled more than 9 million tons, with an annual yearly value of approximately 30 billion SEK. Hence, the trade from the country was less than into the country. The trade, both into and from Sweden was dominated by wood products, with a yearly average of 10 and 7.5 million tons respectively.

The total annual economic value of plants and plant products produced in Sweden was more than 50 billion SEK, which was 1.6 times the value of the trade of plants and plant products from Sweden. A great majority of the production value is associated with forest trees, 27 billion SEK, and arable plants, 20 billion SEK.

The economic value of vegetables and ornamentals and other plants produced in horticulture was approximately 2 billion SEK each. The estimated annual value of park- and street trees in Swedish cities, based on the cost of replacing them after 80 years, was 1.3 billion SEK. Fruits and berries constitute a minor part of plants and plant products produced, 777 million SEK.

In conclusion the amounts of trade as wells as the economic value of plants and plant products quantified in this survey provides valuable information for determining pest specific risks for introduction as well as the potential impact if a species becomes established. The compilation of data also provides support for identifying potential pathways for plant pests.