Vegetable seed exports have increased in volume and value during the first quarter of 2012, according to federal trade data.

The U.S. has shipped about 4.8 million kilograms of a wide variety of vegetable seeds to foreign buyers so far this year, up nearly 5 percent from this point in 2011.

At $150 million, the value of these shipments has risen by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2011, according to federal trade data.

Overseas orders have been increasing due to farming disruptions in France and elsewhere partly due to the pollen beetle pest, which spreads from canola to related crops, said Ted Hake, production manager of the Universal Seed Co. and president of the Willamette Valley Specialty Seed Association.

"They've moved a lot of the production that used to be in different areas in Europe over to the U.S.," said Hake.

-- Mateusz Perkowski