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Seeds: January 2003
Chile Seed Trade
Chile, with the most
sophisticated seed production system in Latin America is an important client and
competitor of the U.S. planting seed industry.
Its geographic isolation and mild climatic conditions help prevent pest
and disease problems; climatic and soil similarities with California have
enabled significant technology transfer in vegetable seeds; and counterseasonal
production with respect to the Northern Hemisphere has made it a popular center
for the multiplication of U.S. cultivars for re-export. U.S. field corn seed is
grown out in Chile and re-imported: According
to U.S. trade data for MY 2001/02, the United States shipped 512 tons of seed
corn to Chile worth $1.9 million, mainly during the summer (July-October 2001),
and imported 49,000 tons of seed corn from Chile worth $81.8 million, almost
entirely during March and April 2002.
In MY 2001/02, the United States
accounted for a 42% share of Chile’s large, $17 million planting seed import
market. The EU ($3.9 million), New
Zealand ($1.2 million) and Argentina ($1 million) were other leading suppliers.
Corn seed accounted for 32% of total seed imports, vegetable seed was the
second largest category at 28 percent. Eighty-five
percent of seed imports from the United States were corn or vegetable seed.
Sugar beet seed also figured prominently in Chile’s seed import
statistics at $1.7 million (all from the EU).
Chile is also a major seed
exporter, indeed the world’s 7th largest in MY 2001/02 at $132 million.
Chile primarily exports corn, vegetable and flower seed.
Corn seed accounted for 49 percent of Chilean seed exports last MY, most
of which was destined for the United States.
Thanks to the important corn seed trade between the U.S. and Chile, Chile
was the largest source of U.S. seed imports last MY at over $100 million. Corn accounted for 77 percent of U.S. seed imports from
Chile; vegetable seed accounted for 13 percent.