U.S. Planting Seed Import Highlights

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

July-February 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 95,682 97,126 98,690 1.6% 147,904 183,027 206,234 12.7%

BY KIND

Grasses 16,397 23,434 22,032 -6.0% 17,484 28,446 30,112 5.9%

Red Fescue 9,964 13,214 13,088 -1.0% 8,803 14,268 13,722 -3.8%

Wheatgrass 538 1,100 1,736 57.8% 880 2,009 6,322 214.7%

Perennial Ryegrass 289 4,023 1,334 -66.8% 1,241 5,788 1,980 -65.8%

Timothy 2,460 2,043 2,881 41.0% 1,691 1,203 1,710 42.1%

Bromegrass 977 759 634 -16.5% 1,518 1,174 1,404 19.6%

Unhulled Bermudagrass 246 305 506 65.9% 105 102 835 718.6%

Tall Fescue 236 328 492 50.0% 314 473 577 22.0%

Annual Ryegrass 102 167 267 59.9% 71 192 338 76.0%

Wild Rye 0 0 85 NA 0 0 271 NA 

Kentucky Bluegrass 767 472 86 -81.8% 1,242 845 125 -85.2%

Other Forages 10,047 5,670 11,431 101.6% 16,501 10,824 21,962 102.9%

Uncertified Alfalfa 2,824 1,836 3,547 93.2% 5,892 4,379 9,055 106.8%

Certified Alfalfa 654 725 1,215 67.6% 1,402 1,671 2,835 69.7%

Red Clover 2,870 823 1,297 57.6% 3,667 1,350 2,499 85.1%

White & Ladino Clover 491 373 543 45.6% 1,412 891 1,362 52.9%

Pulses 36,759 33,089 32,985 -0.3% 15,345 16,493 15,558 -5.7%

Gram Bean 7,028 6,569 5,038 -23.3% 3,996 4,758 4,100 -13.8%

Pea 8,650 13,304 10,781 -19.0% 2,476 4,252 3,559 -16.3%

Lentil 1,846 2,747 4,878 77.6% 952 1,218 1,709 40.3%

Vegetables 3,902 5,468 6,529 19.4% 46,813 58,158 75,679 30.1%

Tomato 184 189 275 45.5% 15,411 16,470 20,897 26.9%

Pepper 66 80 194 142.5% 5,808 9,412 11,733 24.7%

Pumpkin 961 1,794 2,266 26.3% 2,062 4,002 5,695 42.3%

Watermelon 147 244 69 -71.7% 3,334 4,206 4,970 18.2%

Cantaloupe 31 57 99 73.7% 2,177 3,483 4,692 34.7%

Onion 87 188 182 -3.2% 3,734 3,710 4,293 15.7%

Cucumber 16 22 31 40.9% 1,255 1,729 2,766 60.0%

Cauliflower 14 11 29 163.6% 976 937 2,735 191.9%

Squash 53 28 151 439.3% 1,143 938 2,163 130.6%

Other Melons 120 97 137 41.2% 1,582 1,822 2,104 15.5%

Field Crops 27,725 28,605 23,733 -17.0% 15,871 24,595 17,200 -30.1%

Field Corn 8,797 16,678 8,283 -50.3% 11,355 20,024 9,850 -50.8%

Rape and Colza 4,806 338 1,363 NA 965 1,322 3,523 NA 

Cotton 715 0 1,332 NA 147 0 1,009 NA 

Miscellaneous Kinds 850 861 1,980 130.0% 35,890 44,510 45,722 2.7%

Flower 350 434 567 30.6% 32,620 39,041 37,637 -3.6%

Tree and Shrub 171 158 117 -25.9% 1,202 2,767 3,806 37.5%

Sugar Beet 18 8 1,058 13125.0% 111 146 1,118 665.8%

BY REGION

North America 82,286 74,317 77,024 3.64% 60,810 67,348 81,346 20.8%

European Union 2,795 3,344 4,366 30.6% 29,625 37,966 40,512 6.7%

Other Asia \1 4,339 5,125 4,904 -4.3% 27,884 33,399 39,399 18.0%

BY COUNTRY

Canada 75,716 73,141 75,474 3.2% 51,276 57,557 65,478 13.8%

China 4,094 4,836 4,539 -6.1% 15,206 18,931 23,710 25.2%

Netherlands 1,229 937 1,102 17.6% 16,973 18,514 19,408 4.8%

Mexico 6,570 1,176 1,550 31.8% 9,534 9,790 15,868 62.1%

Japan 38 59 194 228.8% 10,153 10,218 10,151 -0.7%

Chile 320 3,309 662 -80.0% 4,909 11,608 7,904 -31.9%

France 302 665 860 29.3% 2,633 3,541 5,938 67.7%

Germany 151 228 252 10.5% 3,661 5,338 5,753 7.8%

India 1,393 2,019 2,988 48.0% 3,978 4,530 5,726 26.4%

Australia 819 1,890 3,547 87.7% 2,363 3,880 5,201 34.0%

Israel 50 102 61 -40.2% 3,984 4,059 4,953 22.0%

Taiwan 69 68 75 10.3% 1,571 3,322 4,609 38.7%

Guatemala 14 13 35 169.2% 4,595 3,428 4,272 24.6%

New Zealand 1,416 3,465 2,198 -36.6% 2,962 5,403 4,001 -25.9%

Italy 363 293 1,184 304.1% 1,792 2,116 3,457 63.4%

Denmark 461 1,083 455 -58.0% 2,569 4,770 3,311 -30.6%

Costa Rica 15 20 44 120.0% 330 2,252 3,267 45.1%

Argentina 172 602 890 47.8% 488 850 2,562 201.4%

United Kingdom 174 113 102 -9.7% 1,720 3,287 2,158 -34.3%

Thailand 324 432 412 -4.6% 1,168 1,858 1,547 -16.7%

South Africa 63 38 192 405.3% 529 298 815 173.5%

South Korea 9 11 21 90.9% 512 558 731 31.0%

Hungary 358 483 77 -84.1% 653 987 612 -38.0%

Vietnam --- 4 20 400.0% 7 336 560 66.7%

Peru 613 777 64 -91.8% 711 1,230 518 -57.9%

Indonesia 1 --- --- NA 203 462 512 10.8% ---

Burma 8 342 566 65.5% 11 222 328 47.7%

Brazil 21 320 16 -95.0% 93 780 326 -58.2%

Belgium 106 23 72 213.0% 74 92 228 147.8%

Nicaragua 0 0 184 NA 0 0 225 NA 

Syria 0 0 27 NA 0 0 221 NA 

Spain --- 1 308 30700.0% 49 34 203 497.1%

\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

April 1998

--- NA