[Federal Register: September 25, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 186)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 57538-57541]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25se00-3]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 905
[Docket No. FV00-905-3 FR]
Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida;
Increase in the Minimum Size Requirements for Dancy, Robinson, and
Sunburst Tangerines
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This rule increases the minimum size requirements for Dancy,
Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines grown in Florida. The minimum size
requirements increase to 2\6/16\ inches diameter for both domestic and
export shipments. The marketing order regulates the handling of
oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida and is
administered locally by the Citrus Administrative Committee
(Committee). This rule will help the Florida tangerine industry meet
market demands for larger fruit and should help increase returns to
producers.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule becomes effective September 26, 2000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William G. Pimental, Marketing
Specialist, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, P.O.
Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida 33883-2276; telephone: (863) 299-4770,
Fax: (863) 299-5169; or George Kelhart, Technical Advisor, Marketing
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA,
room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone:
(202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-5698.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room
2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax:
(202) 720-5698, or E-mail: Jay.Guerber@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 84 and Marketing Order No. 905, both as amended (7 CFR
part 905), regulating the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines,
and tangelos grown in Florida, hereinafter referred to as the
``order.'' The marketing agreement and order are effective under the
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.''
The Department of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This final 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.
The order for Florida citrus provides for the establishment of
minimum grade and size requirements with the concurrence of the
Secretary. The minimum grade and size requirements are designed to
provide fresh markets with fruit of acceptable quality and size,
thereby maintaining consumer confidence for fresh Florida citrus. This
contributes to stable marketing conditions in the interest of growers,
handlers, and consumers, and helps increase returns to Florida citrus
growers. The current minimum grade standard for domestic and export
shipments of Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines is U.S. No. 1.
The current minimum size requirement for domestic shipments is 2\4/16\
inches in diameter (size 210), and the minimum size for export
shipments is 2\2/16\ inches
[[Page 57539]]
in diameter for Dancy tangerines and 2\4/16\ for Robinson and Sunburst.
This final rule changes the order's rules and regulations by
increasing the minimum size requirement for domestic and export
shipments of Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines. This rule
increases the minimum size to 2\6/16\ inches in diameter for Dancy,
Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines both for domestic and export
shipments. This rule will help the Florida tangerine industry meet
market and industry demand for larger fruit and should help increase
returns to producers. The Committee met on May 26, 2000, and
unanimously recommended this action.
Section 905.52 of the order, in part, authorizes the Committee to
recommend minimum grade and size regulations to the Secretary. Section
905.306 (7 CFR part 905.306) specifies minimum grade and size
requirements for different varieties of fresh Florida tangerines. Such
requirements for domestic shipments are specified in Sec. 905.306 in
Table I of paragraph (a), and for export shipments in Table II of
paragraph (b). This rule adjusts Table I and Table II to establish a
minimum size of 2\6/16\ inches diameter for Dancy, Robinson, and
Sunburst tangerines.
This rule increases the minimum size requirement for domestic and
export shipments of Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines. Based on
an analysis of markets and demands of buyers, the Committee believes
that an increase in minimum size will improve the marketing of Florida
tangerines. This follows an industry movement toward shipping larger
tangerines. New commercial varieties have resulted in larger-sized
tangerines being shipped in response to a strong consumer demand.
Because of this demand, production of larger tangerines has been a
popular method of improving returns among producers as it also
increases total yields.
The shift toward tangerine varieties producing larger fruit has
been in response to customer needs. Robinson and Dancy tangerines tend
to be smaller varieties. Overall, production of these two varieties has
decreased by more than 60 percent from the 1995-96 season to the 1999-
2000 season. Conversely, production of larger-sized varieties such as
Sunburst and Fallglo has been increasing. In terms of total shipments
of Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines, Sunburst represented
almost 95 percent of combined shipments for the 1999-2000 season.
The preference for large sizes is also evident in the volume of
small sizes shipped. From the 1995-96 season to the 1999-2000 season,
shipments of size 210 fruit accounted for on average less than 1.3
percent of total Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerine shipments.
Even during the 1998-99 season when sizes for all Florida citrus were
unusually small, shipments of size 210 tangerines only accounted for
2.3 percent of total shipments of these three varieties.
The change in the minimum size was recommended to address this
movement of customer demand and industry production toward larger
sizes. Size continues to be a major influence on price. The Committee
believes that the availability of small size 210 fruit has a negative
affect on market price. In terms of price, a carton of size 210 (2\4/
16\ inch diameter) tangerines can be as much as $3 less than a carton
of size 176 (2\6/16\ inch) tangerines. For the 1999-2000 season, the
average price for a carton of size 210 Dancy, Robinson, or Sunburst
tangerines was $7.80. This compares to a weighted average price for all
sizes of $11.26. The Committee believes increasing the minimum size
better matches supply with demand and will lessen the price depressing
affect of smaller sizes.
In addition, the seasons for these three varieties are short. The
season for the Dancy tends to be three weeks long, five weeks for the
Robinson, and 12 weeks for the Sunburst. With this short marketing
window, it is of increased importance that only the best, most
preferred fruit enters the market. The market has no time to recover
from shipments of fruit that have a depressing effect on price. Also,
on average, approximately 65 percent of the crop for these three
varieties goes to the fresh market. With the on tree price for
processing averaging less than $1.00, it is imperative that the fresh
market be maintained.
The increase in the minimum size to 2\6/16\ inches in diameter is
not expected to significantly affect the total number of shipments.
During the 1999-2000 season, of the approximate 3,821,000 \4/5\ bushel
container shipments of Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines from
Florida, only about 20,670 cartons were size 210. Therefore, the
increase in the size requirement would only reduce shipments by around
0.5 percent. This change will also make the minimum size consistent for
all tangerines, as the minimum size is already 2\6/16\ inches for
Fallglo and Honey tangerines.
Experience has shown that providing uniform quality and size
acceptable to consumers helps stabilize the market, improve grower
returns, and foster market growth. The increased minimum size matches
size to market preferences, and is expected to benefit both producers
and handlers of Florida tangerines. Increasing the minimum size is
expected to further enhance consumer demand and encourage repeat
purchases resulting in increased returns to producers. Therefore, based
on available information, the Committee unanimously recommended that
the minimum size for shipping Dancy, Robinson, or Sunburst tangerines
to the domestic and export market be 2\6/16\ inches in diameter.
Handlers in Florida shipped approximately 3,821,000 \4/5\ bushel
cartons of Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines to the fresh market
during the 1999-2000 season. Of these cartons, about 150,000 were
exported. In the past three seasons, domestic shipments of Florida
Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst tangerines averaged about 3.5 million
cartons.
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 final 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.
There are approximately 55 tangerine handlers who are subject to
regulation under the order, and approximately 11,000 growers of citrus
in the regulated area. Small agricultural service firms, which include
tangerine handlers, are defined by the Small Business Administration
(SBA) as those having annual receipts of less than $5,000,000, and
small agricultural producers are defined as those having annual
receipts of less than $500,000 (13 CFR 121.201).
Based on industry and Committee data for the 1999-2000 season, the
average annual f.o.b. price for fresh tangerines was around $12.00 per
\4/5\ bushel carton, and total fresh shipments of Dancy, Robinson, and
Sunburst tangerines for the 1999-2000 season were 3,821,000 cartons.
Approximately 25 percent of all handlers handled 70 percent of Florida
tangerine shipments. In addition, many of these handlers ship other
citrus fruit and products which are not included in Committee data but
would contribute further to handler receipts. Using the average f.o.b.
price,
[[Page 57540]]
about 55 percent of tangerine handlers could be considered small
businesses under SBA's definition. The majority of these handlers, and
growers may be classified as small entities.
This rule increases the minimum size requirement for domestic and
export shipments of tangerines to 2\6/16\ inches in diameter for the
Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst varieties. The current minimum size
requirement for domestic shipments is 2\4/16\ inches in diameter, and
the minimum size for export shipments is 2\2/16\ inches in diameter for
Dancy tangerines and 2\4/16\ for Robinson and Sunburst. Section 905.52
of the order, in part, authorizes the Committee to recommend minimum
grade and size regulations to the Secretary. Section 905.306 (7 CFR
part 905.306) specifies minimum grade and size requirements for
different varieties of fresh Florida tangerines. Such requirements for
domestic shipments are specified in Sec. 905.306 in Table I of
paragraph (a), and for export shipments in Table II of paragraph (b).
This rule adjusts Table I and Table II to establish a minimum size of
2\6/16\ inches in diameter for Dancy, Robinson, and Sunburst
tangerines. This rule will help the Florida tangerine industry meet
market and industry demands and should help increase returns to
producers.
The costs associated with this rule are expected to be minimal. The
increase in the minimum size is not expected to significantly affect
the total number of tangerine shipments. Rather, the Committee believes
this size increase will help improve the marketing of Florida
tangerines. The direct cost related to this change would stem from the
shipment volume of size 210 tangerines times price. In terms of last
season, that would be approximately 20,670 cartons times the average
price for size 210 tangerines, $7.80, for a possible cost of about
$161,226.
However, the Committee believes that this action will help
stabilize prices and increase shipments. This change was made to
address the increasing demand for larger sizes. While there are some
short-term costs associated with increasing the minimum size, the
benefits are expected to outweigh the costs. If this regulation just
succeeds in raising returns five cents a carton, it would more than
cover its costs. In addition, this change should not require the
purchase of any additional equipment. This action is consistent with
current and anticipated demand. The opportunities and benefits of this
rule are expected to be equally available to tangerine handlers and
growers regardless of their size of operation.
The Committee considered one alternative to this action. The
Committee discussed leaving the regulations as they were. However, this
alternative was rejected based on the consideration of current demand
for larger sizes and the possible negative impact on price resulting
from maintaining the current minimum size.
This rule increases size requirements under the marketing order for
Florida citrus. Accordingly, this action will not impose any additional
reporting or recordkeeping requirements on either small or large
tangerine handlers. As with all Federal marketing order programs,
reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information
requirements and duplication by industry and public sector agencies.
As noted in the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, the
Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that
duplicate, overlap or conflict with this rule. However, tangerines must
meet the requirements as specified in the U.S. Standards for Grades of
Florida Tangerines (7 CFR 51.1810 through 51.1837) issued under the
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 through 1627).
In addition, 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 May 26,
2000, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and
small, were able to express their views on this issue.
A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal
Register on August 1, 2000 (65 FR 46879). Copies of the rule were
mailed or sent via facsimile to all Committee members and Florida
citrus handlers. Finally, the rule was made available through the
Internet by the Office of the Federal Register. A 30-day comment period
ending August 31, 2000, was provided to allow interested persons to
respond to the proposal. No comments were received.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: http:/
/www.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab.html. Any questions about the compliance
guide should be sent to Jay Guerber at the previously mentioned address
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including the
information and recommendation submitted by the Committee and other
available information, it is hereby found that this rule, as
hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of
the Act.
It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the
effective date of this rule until 30 days after publication in the
Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553). Tangerine shipments are expected to
begin in September, and handlers are ready to comply with the increased
size requirements of this rule, which were recommended at a public
meeting of the Committee. Also, a 30-day comment period was provided
for in the proposed rule, and no comments were received.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 905
Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Tangerines, Tangelos.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 905 is
amended as follows:
PART 905--ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS GROWN IN
FLORIDA
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 905 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. In Sec. 905.306, Table I in paragraph (a) and Table II in
paragraph (b) are amended by revising the entries for Dancy, Robinson,
and Sunburst under ``Tangerines,'' to read as follows:
Sec. 905.306 Orange, Grapefruit, Tangerine, and Tangelo Regulation.
(a) * * *
[[Page 57541]]
Table II
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Minimum
Variety Regulation period Minimum grade diameter
(inches)
(1) (2)....................... (3)....................... (4)
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Tangerines
Dancy,.................................. On and after September 26, U.S. No. 1................ 2-6/16
2000.
* * * * * *
*
Robinson,............................... On and after September 26, U.S. No. 1................ 2-6/16
2000.
Sunburst,............................... On and after September 26, U.S. No. 1................ 2-6/16
2000.
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* * * * *
(b) * * *
Table II
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Minimum
Variety Regulation period Minimum grade diameter
(inches)
(1) (2)....................... (3)....................... (4)
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Tangerines
Dancy,.................................. On and after September 26, U.S. No. 1................ 2-6/16
2000.
* * * * * *
*
Robinson,............................... On and after September 26, U.S. No. 1................ 2-6/16
2000.
Sunburst,............................... On and after September 26, U.S. No. 1................ 2-6/16
2000.
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* * * * *
Dated: September 18, 2000.
Robert C. Keeney,
Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs.
[FR Doc. 00-24505 Filed 9-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-U
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