[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 34 (Thursday, February 20, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7655-7657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4113]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 34 / Thursday, February 20, 1997 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 7655]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Parts 905 and 944
[Docket No. FV96-905-4 FIR]
Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida;
and Import Regulations (Grapefruit); Relaxation of the Minimum Size
Requirement for Red Grapefruit
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a
final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule
changing regulations under the Florida citrus marketing order and
grapefruit import regulations. This rule relaxes the minimum size
requirement for red seedless grapefruit from 3\9/16\ inches in diameter
(size 48) to 3\5/16\ inches in diameter (size 56). The Citrus
Administrative Committee (Committee), the agency that locally
administers the marketing order for oranges, grapefruit, tangerines,
and tangelos grown in Florida, unanimously recommended this change.
This change will enable handlers and importers to continue to ship size
56 red seedless grapefruit for the entire 1996-97 season.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 24, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caroline C. Thorpe, Marketing
Specialist, Marketing Order Administration Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, room
2525-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456; telephone: (202)
720-5127, Fax # (202) 720-5698; or William G. Pimental, Marketing
Specialist, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable
Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida 33883-2276;
telephone: (941) 299-4770, Fax # (941) 299-5169. Small businesses may
request information on compliance with this regulation by contacting:
Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable
Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-
6456; telephone (202) 720-2491; Fax # (202) 720-5698.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 84 and Marketing Order No. 905 (7 CFR Part 905), as
amended, regulating the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines,
and tangelos grown in Florida, hereinafter referred to as the order.
The order is effective under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act
of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the
``Act.''
This rule is also issued under section 8e of the Act, which
provides that whenever certain specified commodities, including
grapefruit, are regulated under a Federal marketing order, imports of
these commodities into the United States are prohibited unless they
meet the same or comparable grade, size, quality, or maturity
requirements as those in effect for the domestically produced
commodities.
The Department is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive
Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
This rule will not preempt any State or local laws, regulations, or
policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this
rule.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under Section 608c(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary a
petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any
obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance
with law and request a modification of the order or to be exempted
therefrom. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the
petition. After the hearing, the Secretary would rule on the petition.
The Act provides that the district court of the United States in any
district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her
principal place of business, has jurisdiction to review the Secretary's
ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20
days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted
prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of import regulations
issued under section 8e of the Act.
The order for Florida citrus provides for the establishment of
minimum grade and size requirements. The minimum grade and size
requirements are designed to provide fresh markets with fruit of
acceptable quality, thereby maintaining consumer confidence for fresh
Florida citrus. This helps create buyer confidence and contributes to
stable marketing conditions. This is in the interest of producers,
packers, and consumers, and is designed to increase returns to Florida
citrus growers.
The Committee met October 8, 1996, and unanimously recommended
relaxing the red seedless grapefruit minimum size requirement from size
48 (3\9/16\ inches diameter) to size 56 (3\5/16\ inches diameter) for
the period November 11, 1996, through November 9, 1997. This relaxation
was effectuated by an interim final rule issued on November 27, 1996
(61 FR 64251). Absent this change, the size would have reverted back to
size 48 (3\9/16\ inches diameter), on November 11, 1996.
Section 905.52 of the order authorizes the Committee to recommend
minimum grade and size regulations to the Secretary. Section 905.306 (7
CFR 905.306) specifies minimum grade and size requirements for
different varieties of fresh Florida grapefruit. Such requirements for
domestic shipments are specified in Section 905.306 in Table I of
paragraph (a), and for export shipments in Table II of paragraph (b).
Minimum grade and size requirements for grapefruit imported into the
United States are currently in effect under Section 944.106 (7 CFR
944.106), as reinstated on July 26, 1993 (58 FR 39428, July 23, 1993).
Export requirements are not changed by this rule.
In making its recommendation, the Committee considered estimated
supply and current shipments. According to both the National
Agricultural Statistics Service and the Committee, production of red
seedless grapefruit is expected to increase in comparison to last year
[[Page 7656]]
(1995-96). Both sources estimate an increase in production for this
season (1996-97) of about 10 percent to 31.5 million boxes and about 3
percent to 29 million boxes, respectively. The Committee reports that
it expects that fresh market demand will be sufficient to permit the
shipment of size 56 red seedless grapefruit grown in Florida during the
entire 1996-97 season. The Committee believes that markets have been
developed for size 56 and that they should continue to supply those
markets.
This size relaxation will enable Florida grapefruit shippers to
continue shipping size 56 red seedless grapefruit to the domestic
market. This rule will have a beneficial impact on producers and
handlers, since it will permit Florida grapefruit handlers to make
available those sizes of fruit needed to meet consumer needs. This is
consistent with current and anticipated demand in those markets for the
1996-97 season, and will provide for the maximization of shipments to
fresh market channels.
There are some exemptions to these regulations provided under the
order. Handlers may ship up to 15 standard packed cartons (12 bushels)
of fruit per day. Handlers may also ship unlimited gift packages of up
to 2 standard packed cartons of fruit per day, which are individually
addressed and not for resale. Fruit shipped for animal feed is also
exempt under specific conditions. Fruit shipped to commercial
processors for conversion into canned or frozen products or into a
beverage base is not subject to the handling requirements.
Section 8e of the Act provides that when certain domestically
produced commodities, including grapefruit, are regulated under a
Federal marketing order, imports of that commodity must meet the same
or comparable grade, size, quality, and maturity requirements. Since
this rule continues a relaxation in the minimum size requirement under
the domestic handling regulations, a corresponding change to the import
regulations must also be considered.
Minimum grade and size requirements for grapefruit imported into
the United States are currently in effect under Section 944.106 (7 CFR
944.106), as reinstated on July 26, 1993 (58 FR 39428, July 23, 1993).
This final rule continues a relaxation the minimum size requirements
for imported red seedless grapefruit to 3\5/16\ inches in diameter
(size 56) for the period November 11, 1996, through November 9, 1997,
which reflects the relaxation being made under the order for grapefruit
grown in Florida. The minimum grade and size requirements for Florida
grapefruit are specified in Section 905.306 (7 CFR 905.306) under
Marketing Order No. 905.
During the last 5 years (1991-1995) imports to the United States of
fresh grapefruit averaged less than 2 percent of total domestic
consumption or less than 15,000 tons per year. Based on Departmental
data, domestic consumption averaged 766,000 tons per year for that
period. The major exporter of grapefruit to the United States was the
Bahamas. The Bahamas shipped an average of 95 percent of all grapefruit
imports to the United States during that time period. Other exporters
of grapefruit to the United States included Mexico, Jamaica, Dominican
Republic, Israel, and Thailand.
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the
economic impact of this action on small entities. Accordingly, AMS has
prepared this regulatory flexibility analysis.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued
pursuant to the Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that
they are brought about through group action of essentially small
entities acting on their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small
entity orientation and compatibility. Import regulations issued under
the Act are based on those established under Federal marketing orders.
There are approximately 100 handlers of Florida citrus who are
subject to regulation under the marketing order, approximately 11,000
producers of citrus in the regulated area, and about 25 grapefruit
importers. Small agricultural service firms are defined by the Small
Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual
receipts of less than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are
defined as those whose annual receipts are less than $500,000. The
majority of Florida citrus producers and grapefruit importers may be
classified as small entities. The majority of Florida citrus handlers
are estimated to be large entities.
Based on Committee shipping data and estimates for 1994-95,
approximately 60 percent of all handlers handled 83 percent of Florida
fresh domestic and export citrus shipments. The handlers included in
this figure shipped 500,000 or more boxes of fresh citrus. The average
price for Florida citrus was $7.00 per \4/5\ bushel box for all
domestic shipments. The actual receipts of these handlers is estimated
to be higher as most of these handlers also ship to processing markets,
which are not included in Committee data but would contribute to total
handler receipts.
Section 905.52 of the order authorizes the establishment of minimum
size regulations for Florida citrus, and section 8e of the Act requires
that when such regulations are in effect for grapefruit, the same or
comparable requirements be applied to imports.
This action continues a relaxation in the minimum size requirement
established for Florida and imported red seedless grapefruit from size
48 (3\9/16\ inches diameter) to size 56 (3\5/16\ inches diameter) for
the period November 11, 1996, through November 9, 1997. Absent this
change, the size would have reverted back to size 48 (3\9/16\ inches
diameter), on November 11, 1996.
This rule is expected to have a positive impact on growers,
handlers and importers, as it will permit the shipment of smaller size
grapefruit, allowing the industry to meet market needs. There is a
small established market for size 56 red seedless grapefruit and
elimination of all shipments of this size would cause a hardship on the
industry. The relaxed minimum size requirement will be applied to both
small and large handlers and importers in the same way.
Based on shipment data from the Committee, total fresh Florida
citrus shipments for interstate and export markets averaged 65,935
million \4/5\ bushel boxes during the last 5 seasons (1991-1995).
During this period, size 56 red seedless grapefruit comprised
approximately 3 to 5 percent of total fresh shipments, or 2 to 3
million \4/5\ bushel boxes. The average price for the last 5 seasons
ranged from $5.54 to $5.68 per \4/5\ bushel box for size 56 red
seedless grapefruit. Thus, potential revenue from the sale of this
fruit would range from $11 million to $17 million.
This relaxation is consistent with current and anticipated market
demand for the 1996-97 season, and will provide for the maximization of
shipments to fresh market channels. The benefits of this rule are not
expected to be disproportionately greater or less for small handlers,
growers or importers than for larger entities.
The Committee discussed an alternative to this change, which was to
not relax the minimum size requirement. This alternative would have
prevented the industry from shipping fruit to current viable markets.
While only a small amount of the crop is expected to be affected by
relaxing the minimum size, the Committee believes that this relaxation
will benefit
[[Page 7657]]
producers and handlers with smaller fruit this season. Thus, the
Committee unanimously recommended this action.
This rule relaxes size requirements under the order and the
grapefruit import regulations. Accordingly, this action will not impose
any additional reporting or recordkeeping requirements on either small
or large Florida citrus handlers or grapefruit importers. As with all
Federal marketing order programs and companion import regulations,
reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information
requirements and duplication by industry and public sector agencies.
The Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that
duplicate, overlap or conflict with this rule. In addition to minimum
size requirements, Florida and imported grapefruit is required to meet
minimum grade requirements that are based on the U.S. Standards for
Grades of Florida Grapefruit (7 CFR 51.750 through 51.784) which are
issued under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621
through 1627). Additionally, the Department of Citrus for the State of
Florida regulates citrus through the Citrus Fruit Laws, Chapter 601,
Florida Citrus Code of 1949.
The Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout the
Florida citrus industry and all interested persons were invited to
attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations on all
issues. Like all Committee meetings, the October 8, 1996, meeting was a
public meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to
express views on this issue. The Committee itself is composed of 18
members, of which 9 are producers, 8 are handlers and 1 is a public
member. The majority of Committee members represent small entities.
The interim final rule was issued on November 27, 1996, and
published in the Federal Register (61 FR 64251, December 4, 1996), with
an effective date of November 11, 1996. That rule amended Secs. 905.306
and 944.106 of the rules and regulations in effect. That rule provided
a 30-day comment period which ended January 3, 1997. No comments were
received.
In accordance with section 8e of the Act, the United States Trade
Representative has concurred with the issuance of this final rule.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the Committee's recommendation, and other available information, it is
found that finalizing the interim final rule, without change, as
published in the Federal Register (61 FR 64251, December 4, 1996) will
tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
List of Subjects
7 CFR Part 905
Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Tangelos, Tangerines.
7 CFR Part 944
Avocados, Food grades and standards, Grapefruit, Grapes, Imports,
Kiwifruit, Limes, Olives, Oranges.
For the reasons set forth above, 7 CFR parts 905 and 944 are
amended as follows:
PART 905--ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS GROWN IN
FLORIDA
PART 944--FRUITS; IMPORT REGULATIONS
Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR parts 905 and
944 which was published at 61 FR 64251 on December 4, 1996, is adopted
as a final rule without change.
Dated: February 13, 1997.
Robert C. Keeney,
Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 97-4113 Filed 2-19-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P