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contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

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REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

12033 

Vol. 79, No. 42 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Parts 920 and 944 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0032; FV13–920–1 

FIR] 

Kiwifruit Grown in California and 

Imported Kiwifruit; Relaxation of 

Minimum Grade Requirement 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

rule that relaxed the minimum grade 

requirement under the marketing order 

for kiwifruit grown in California (order), 

and for kiwifruit imported into the 

United States that are shipped to the 

fresh market, by increasing the tolerance 

of kiwifruit which is ‘‘badly misshapen’’ 

from 7 percent to 16 percent. This 

change is intended to facilitate the 

packing of fruit to meet the minimum 

grade requirement of ‘‘KAC No. 1,’’ and 

reduce costs associated with re-sorting 

and repacking this grade of fruit. 

DATES: Effective March 7, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathie M. Notoro, Marketing Specialist, 

or Martin Engeler, Regional Director, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or Email: 

Kathie.Notoro@ams.usda.gov or 

Martin.Engeler@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may obtain 

information on complying with this and 

other marketing order regulations by 

viewing a guide at the following Web 

site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide; 

or by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

920, as amended (7 CFR part 920), 

regulating the handling of kiwifruit in 

California, 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 kiwifruit, 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 of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

12866 and 13563. 

The handling of kiwifruit grown in 

California is regulated by 7 CFR part 

920. Prior to this change, the minimum 

grade requirement under the definition 

for KAC No. 1 kiwifruit quality allowed 

a tolerance of 7 percent for ‘‘badly 

misshapen’’ fruit. Increasing the 

tolerance for badly misshapen fruit to 16 

percent is expected to reduce the 

incidence of containers of KAC No. 1 

fruit failing to meet grade requirements, 

thereby reducing costs associated with 

repacking and re-sorting failing fruit. It 

is also expected to help facilitate and 

streamline the packing process by 

avoiding disruptions associated with 

repacking and re-sorting fruit. 

Imported kiwifruit is subject to 

regulations specified in 7 CFR part 944. 

Under those regulations, imported 

kiwifruit must meet the same minimum 

size requirements as specified for 

domestic kiwifruit under the order. 

Therefore, the tolerance of kiwifruit 

which is ‘‘badly misshapen’’ was also 

relaxed from 7 percent to 16 percent for 

kiwifruit imported into the United 

States. 

This rule continues in effect the rule 

that relaxed the minimum grade 

requirement for both domestic and 

imported kiwifruit. 

In an interim rule that was published 

in the Federal Register on July 22, 2013, 

(78 FR 43758, Doc. No. AMS–FV–13– 

0032; FV13–920–1 IR), §§ 920.302 and 

944.550 were amended by changing the 

definition of KAC No. 1 quality to allow 

a tolerance of 16 percent for kiwifruit 

that is ‘‘badly misshapen.’’ 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), 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 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. Import regulations issued under 

the Act are based on those established 

under Federal marketing orders. 

There are approximately 178 kiwifruit 

growers subject to regulation under the 

marketing order and approximately 28 

handlers in the production area. There 

are approximately 53 importers of 

kiwifruit. Small agricultural service 

firms, which include kiwifruit handlers 

and importers, are defined by the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) (13 CFR 

121.201) as those having annual receipts 

of less than $7,000,000, and small 

agricultural producers are defined as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$750,000. 

The California Agricultural Statistical 

Service (CASS) reported total California 

kiwifruit production for the 2011–12 

season at 37,700 tons, with an average 

price of $775 per ton. Based on the 

average price and shipment information 

provided by the CASS and the Kiwifruit 

Administrative Committee (Committee), 

the majority of kiwifruit handlers would 

be considered small businesses under 

the SBA definition. Based on kiwifruit 

production and price information, as 

well as the total number of California 

kiwifruit growers, the average annual 

grower revenue is less than $750,000. 

Thus, the majority of California 


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12034 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 42 / Tuesday, March 4, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

kiwifruit producers may also be 

classified as small entities. In addition, 

based on data from the U.S. Census 

Bureau, Department of Commerce, the 

value of imported kiwifruit for 50 of the 

53 importers was less than $7,000,000. 

Thus, it can be concluded that the 

majority of kiwifruit importers may be 

classified as small entities. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that relaxed the minimum grade 

requirement for KAC No. 1 kiwifruit 

grown in California and for imported 

kiwifruit. This rule relaxes the tolerance 

for kiwifruit that is ‘‘badly misshapen’’ 

from 7 percent to 16 percent under the 

provisions of §§ 920.302(b) and 944.550 

of the order. Authority for the change in 

the order’s rules and regulations is 

provided in § 920.53. The change in the 

import regulation is provided under 

section 8e of the Act. 

This action is not expected to increase 

costs associated with the order 

requirements or the kiwifruit import 

regulation. Rather, this action is 

expected to reduce costs to handlers and 

growers of kiwifruit, and to increase 

efficiencies in the packing process. 

Increasing the tolerance for misshapen 

fruit will reduce the amount of product 

that fails to meet the minimum grade, 

thus reducing re-sorting and repacking 

costs and reducing inefficiencies in the 

packing process. The quality of fruit to 

consumers is not expected to be 

significantly affected. 

Importers also benefit from this 

change as a greater volume of fruit is 

available for shipment to the United 

States. The opportunities and benefits of 

this rule are equally available to all 

kiwifruit handlers, growers, and 

importers, regardless of their size. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0189, Generic 

Fruit Crops. No changes in those 

requirements as a result of this action 

are necessary. Should any changes 

become necessary, they would be 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

kiwifruit handlers in California or 

importers. 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. In addition, USDA has 

not identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

this rule. 

Further, the Committee’s meeting 

where this change was recommended 

was widely publicized throughout the 

California kiwifruit industry. All 

interested persons were invited to 

attend the meeting and participate in 

Committee deliberations. Like all 

Committee meetings, the March 27, 

2013, meeting was a public meeting. All 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before 

September 20, 2013. One comment was 

received. The commenter supported this 

action, stating that increasing the 

tolerance for misshapen fruit would 

decrease food waste and increase the 

availability of affordable fresh fruit for 

consumers. No changes are being made 

to the interim rule based on comments 

received. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

interim rule, we are adopting the 

interim rule as a final rule, without 

change. 

To view the interim rule, go to: http:// 

www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=AMS-FV-13-0032- 

0001. 

This action also affirms information 

contained in the interim rule concerning 

Executive Orders 12866 and 12988, the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), and the E-Gov Act (44 

U.S.C. 101). 

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, it is found that 

finalizing the interim rule, without 

change, as published in the Federal 

Register (78 FR 43758, July 22, 2013) 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

List of Subjects 

7 CFR Part 920 

Kiwifruit, Marketing agreements. 

7 CFR Part 944 

Avocados, Food grades and standards, 

Grapefruit, Grapes, Imports, Kiwifruit, 

Limes, Olives, Oranges. 

§§ 920 AND 944 [AMENDED] 

Accordingly, the interim rule that 

amended 7 CFR parts 920 and 944 and 

that was published at 78 FR 43758 on 

July 22, 2013, is adopted as a final rule, 

without change. 

Dated: February 25, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–04689 Filed 3–3–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 993 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0065; FV13–993–1 

FR] 

Dried Prunes Produced in California; 

Increased Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule increases the 

assessment rate established for the 

Prune Marketing Committee 

(Committee) for the 2013–14 and 

subsequent crop years from $0.22 to 

$0.28 per ton of salable dried prunes 

handled. The Committee locally 

administers the marketing order, which 

regulates the handling of dried prunes 

grown in California. Assessments upon 

dried prune handlers are used by the 

Committee to fund reasonable and 

necessary expenses of the program. The 

crop year begins August 1 and ends July 

31. The assessment rate will remain in 

effect indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Effective Date: March 5, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry 

L. Simmons, Marketing Specialist, or 

Martin Engeler, Regional Director, 

California Marketing Field Office, Fruit 

and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (559) 487–5901, Fax: (559) 

487–5906, or Email: Jerry.Simmons@

ams.usda.gov or Martin.Engeler@

ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

No. 110 and Order No. 993, both as 

amended (7 CFR part 993), regulating 

the handling of dried prunes grown in 

California, hereinafter referred to as the 

‘‘order.’’ The order is effective under the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 


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