Total exports for all major seed exporting countries for 2010-11 (July/June) were 792,856 metric tons valued at $525,855,081. Of this the U.S. only accounted for 2.9 percent, or 23,419 metric tons, valued at $11,616,517. It must be noted seed export figures are somewhat unreliable, as fresh potato exports are sometimes counted as seed and vice versa. The important point, though, is exports of seed potatoes hold huge potential for U.S. growers. The United States Potato Board (USPB) began its international seed potato marketing program in 1998 and has been making steady progress ever since. The first hurdle to overcome was the lack of access for U.S. seed potatoes to foreign markets. By working with the National Potato Council (NPC) and state potato grower organizations, the USPB assisted USDA in opening the following markets to U.S. seed potatoes: Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Uruguay, Thailand and Sri Lanka, with access to Egypt pending.
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