U.S. Planting Seed Import Highlights

July-June Marketing Year 1997/98 Compared to 1995/96 and 1996/97

July-March 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 % Change 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 % Change

Metric Tons 97/98-96/97 $1,000 97/98-96/97

ALL SEEDS 135,578 137,595 142,687 3.7% 196,464 238,387 262,454 10.1%

BY KIND

Grasses 19,270 27,870 26,587 -4.6% 20,787 34,038 35,912 5.5%

Red Fescue 11,778 15,644 15,717 0.5% 10,545 16,998 16,617 -2.2%

Wheatgrass 604 1,143 1,882 64.7% 1,019 2,134 6,941 225.3%

Perennial Ryegrass 341 5,243 2,224 -57.6% 1,315 7,461 3,005 -59.7%

Timothy 2,838 2,258 3,454 53.0% 1,983 1,360 2,085 53.3%

Bromegrass 1,114 956 755 -21.0% 1,742 1,463 1,796 22.8%

Unhulled Bermudagrass 281 320 521 62.8% 152 130 844 549.2%

Tall Fescue 281 412 522 26.7% 366 589 640 8.7%

Annual Ryegrass 113 181 306 69.1% 92 197 393 99.5%

Wild Rye 0 13 104 NA 0 55 314 NA 

Kentucky Bluegrass 976 533 106 -80.1% 1,592 959 140 -85.4%

Other Forages 11,219 6,744 13,224 96.1% 18,654 13,137 25,130 91.3%

Uncertified Alfalfa 3,118 2,272 3,967 74.6% 6,602 5,476 10,175 85.8%

Red Clover 3,143 964 1,615 67.5% 4,127 1,617 3,117 92.8%

Certified Alfalfa 781 867 1,272 46.7% 1,690 2,017 2,960 46.8%

White & Ladino Clover 522 413 543 31.5% 1,508 1,009 1,362 35.0%

Sweet Clover 1,885 689 931 35.1% 1,405 644 1,224 90.1%

Birdsfoot Trefoil 288 76 210 176.3% 1,059 317 1,042 228.7%

Pulses 42,595 39,806 41,892 5.2% 17,795 19,457 19,142 -1.6%

Pea 12,224 17,863 17,072 -4.4% 3,566 5,851 5,414 -7.5%

Gram Bean 8,402 7,582 6,190 -18.4% 4,832 5,448 5,045 -7.4%

Lentil 2,343 2,856 5,292 85.3% 1,158 1,260 1,862 47.8%

Vegetables 4,461 8,539 8,333 -2.4% 51,456 68,151 84,027 23.3%

Tomato 194 200 295 47.5% 17,006 17,924 22,962 28.1%

Pepper 68 81 200 146.9% 6,109 10,015 12,930 29.1%

Pumpkin 1,250 2,195 2,491 13.5% 2,725 4,822 6,249 29.6%

Watermelon 182 296 86 -70.9% 3,603 5,303 5,232 -1.3%

Cantaloupe 32 65 102 56.9% 2,290 3,932 4,846 23.2%

Onion 107 296 190 -35.8% 4,206 4,242 4,554 7.4%

Cucumber 18 27 34 25.9% 1,309 1,827 2,957 61.9%

Cauliflower 14 12 29 141.7% 1,000 1,067 2,815 163.8%

Other Melons 140 137 140 2.2% 1,634 2,060 2,333 13.3%

Squash 58 34 152 347.1% 1,255 1,125 2,182 94.0%

Carrot 35 32 87 171.9% 884 740 2,058 178.1%

Field Crops 57,110 53,533 50,515 -5.6% 45,794 53,796 48,833 -9.2%

Field Corn 27,943 31,787 24,941 -21.5% 35,257 44,004 36,739 -16.5%

Rape and Colza 5,184 682 2,083 NA 3,028 2,780 5,928 NA 

Non-durum Wheat 10,556 8,866 6,590 NA 2,197 2,104 1,253 NA 

Cotton 715 0 1,339 NA 147 0 1,021 NA 

Barley 4,568 5,983 5,896 NA 883 1,089 1,016 NA 

Miscellaneous Kinds 925 1,103 2,136 93.7% 41,978 49,809 49,410 -0.8%

Flower 394 532 695 30.6% 38,111 43,733 40,805 -6.7%

Tree and Shrub 181 179 122 -31.8% 1,453 2,907 4,084 40.5%

Sugar Beet 22 20 1,061 5205.0% 306 165 1,126 582.4%

BY REGION

North America 101,594 94,544 100,045 5.82% 72,523 81,639 97,379 19.3%

European Union 4,050 4,177 5,134 22.9% 35,113 44,839 45,163 0.7%

Other Asia \1 5,336 5,949 6,195 4.1% 31,116 36,102 43,219 19.7%

BY COUNTRY

Canada 94,663 92,934 98,110 5.6% 62,491 70,915 80,524 13.6%

China 5,059 5,601 5,782 3.2% 16,453 20,172 26,581 31.8%

Chile 10,018 12,243 9,294 -24.1% 18,148 26,578 22,131 -16.7%

Netherlands 1,426 1,254 1,244 -0.8% 19,603 21,361 20,435 -4.3%

Mexico 6,930 1,610 1,935 20.2% 10,032 10,724 16,855 57.2%

Argentina 7,892 7,390 8,075 9.3% 11,462 10,257 13,737 33.9%

Japan 46 68 221 225.0% 12,025 11,198 10,977 -2.0%

France 1,156 937 1,255 33.9% 4,084 6,457 8,472 31.2%

India 1,534 2,240 3,575 59.6% 4,870 5,357 6,792 26.8%

Germany 175 231 286 23.8% 4,219 5,873 6,350 8.1%

Australia 878 2,380 3,793 59.4% 2,539 4,719 5,752 21.9%

Israel 73 154 70 -54.5% 4,102 4,326 5,592 29.3%

Guatemala 14 13 35 169.2% 5,233 4,167 5,055 21.3%

New Zealand 1,574 4,481 3,082 -31.2% 3,307 6,970 5,023 -27.9%

Taiwan 91 89 75 -15.7% 1,628 3,587 4,664 30.0%

Italy 367 336 1,258 274.4% 1,885 2,205 3,678 66.8%

Denmark 618 1,189 529 -55.5% 3,013 5,087 3,476 -31.7%

Costa Rica 16 24 48 100.0% 424 2,270 3,460 52.4%

United Kingdom 181 158 143 -9.5% 1,983 3,394 2,249 -33.7%

Brazil 389 1,167 1,222 4.7% 600 2,100 1,919 -8.6%

Thailand 401 485 460 -5.2% 1,780 2,556 1,646 -35.6%

South Africa 63 58 198 241.4% 529 370 826 123.2%

South Korea 9 13 27 107.7% 530 708 748 5.6%

Hungary 359 563 80 -85.8% 667 1,118 672 -39.9%

Indonesia 1 --- --- NA 230 471 564 19.7% ---

Vietnam 1 4 20 400.0% 25 336 560 66.7%

Peru 635 777 64 -91.8% 771 1,303 521 -60.0%

Burma 8 342 587 71.6% 11 222 338 52.3%

Hong Kong 131 166 90 -45.8% 480 420 249 -40.7% ---

Belgium 114 23 74 221.7% 102 102 236 131.4%

Turkey 316 123 81 -34.1% 554 323 234 -27.6% ---

Nicaragua 0 0 184 NA 0 0 225 NA 

Syria 0 0 27 NA 0 0 221 NA 

Spain 2 45 313 595.6% 69 76 213 180.3%

\1 Other Asia region includes China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, and Taiwan.

--- denotes less than 500 kilograms.

Source: Compiled from U.S. Bureau of Census records.

Prepared by USDA/FAS/COTSD

May 1998

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