United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

January 2012

Analysis in Support of Certification that the 

Rule will not have a Significant Economic 

Impact on a Substantial Number of Small 

Entities

Proposed Rule 

APHIS-2011-0019

RIN 0579-AD46

Importation of Jackfruit, Pineapple, and 

Starfruit from Malaysia into the Continental 

United States

Policy & Program Development

Policy Analysis & Development
0

Summary

APHIS proposes to allow imports from Malaysia of fresh pineapple, jackfruit and 

starfruit with stems into the continental United States under certain phytosanitary conditions. 

This action is undertaken in response to a request from the government of Malaysia. Data on

U.S. production and trade of jackfruit or starfruit are not available. The latest available data on 

U.S. fresh pineapple production is for 2006, when 99,000 metric tons were sold by Hawaiian 

producers. By comparison, fresh pineapple imports by the United States doubled between 2002 

and 2010, from 406,000 to 809,000 metric tons, with Costa Rica the principal source.

Malaysian producers expect to export to the United States about 2,500 metric tons of 

fresh pineapple (equivalent to 0.3 percent of U.S. imports in 2010), 1,500 metric tons of fresh 

jackfruit, and 3,000 metric tons of fresh starfruit. Importers and wholesalers that may be affected 

by the proposed rule are predominantly small entities. Small-scale Hawaiian producers of fresh 

pineapple, jackfruit, and starfruit mainly market to consumers within that State and are not 

expected to be significantly affected by the importation of these fruits into the continental United 

States. Under these circumstances, the APHIS Administrator has determined that this action, if 

promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 

entities.
1

Introduction 

The government of Malaysia has requested that APHIS allow the importation of fresh 

pineapple (Ananas comosus (L)), jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophylis Lam.), and starfruit 

(Averrhoa carambolia) with stems into the continental United States. Producers in Malaysia 

would comply with APHIS-approved phytosanitary measures, including irradiation and 

treatment of the fruit with high-pressure water spray or compressed air, application of broad 

spectrum fungicide treatments, and visual inspection and certification. 

Pineapple, jackfruit, and starfruit are tropical or semitropical fruits that are not grown in 

the continental United States except in greenhouses. Virtually the entire U.S. pineapple crop is 

grown in Hawaii. In 2006, the most recent reported year, there were 30 Hawaiian farms with a 

total of 13,900 acres that produced 188,000 tons of pineapples with an estimated value of $75.5

million (table 1). Production for the fresh pineapple market totaled 99,000 tons. In the last 15

years, several pineapple companies in Hawaii have closed down due to rising production costs

and steep competition from Hawaii-based corporations with production operations in low-cost 

countries. However, small, independent Hawaiian pineapple growers on the islands of Maui and 

Hawaii continue to have limited sales to local fresh fruit markets.

Table 1 Pineapples: Number of farms, acreage, production, disposition, and value, State of Hawaii, 2002-2006

Year Farms

Acreage 

used for 

crop

Production 

in tons

(fresh weight)

Disposition

Value of production 

(fresh weight)

Processed 

in tons 

(fresh weight)

Fresh market

(in tons)

2002 25 19,100 320,000 203,000 117,000 $100,616,000

2003 25 16,000 300,000 170,000 130,000 $101,470,000

2004 30 13,000 220,000 116,000 104,000 $83,104,000

2005 30 14,000 212,000 106,000 106,000 $79,288,000

2006 30 13,900 188,000 89,000 99,000 $75,542,000

Source: NASS, Dept of Ag State of Hawaii, Ag Development Division, Pineapples: Annual Summary, Several Issues.

Note: 2006 was the last year pineapple production statistics were gathered.
2

Information specific to the production of starfruit and jackfruit is not available (although 

production data for starfruit was separately reported for two years, 2002 and 2003, as shown in 

table 2). Rather, only aggregated data is available for “other minor tropical specialty fruits.”1

Table 2 Startfruit: Number of farms, acreage, production, price, value, State of Hawaii, 2002-2003

Year Farms Acreage Number of trees Utilized Production Farm Price Value of Sales Total Bearing

2002 50 25 2,100 1,800 63,000 $1.51 / lb $ 95,000

2003 50 30 2,700 800 24,000 $1.58/ lb $ 38,000

Source: NASS, Dept of Ag State of Hawaii, Ag Development Division, Tropical Specialty Fruits: Annual Summary, 2010.

According to Hawaii’s Agricultural Statistics Service, between 1991 and 2008, acreage 

devoted to “other minor tropical specialty fruits” as a whole increased from 200 acres to 1,480 

acres. In 2008, Hawaiian growers of “minor tropical specialty fruits” produced and sold an 

estimated 2.1 million pounds of fresh fruit valued at $4 million.

As shown in table 3, the United States is a net importer of fresh pineapples, 98 percent of

which are imported from Central American countries and Mexico. Costa Rica alone supplies 84 

percent of U.S. pineapple imports (fresh or dried). The government of Malaysia proposes to 

export to the continental United States an annual volume of 2,500 metric tons of pineapples. 

This amount is equivalent to 0.4 percent of average U.S. imports, 2002-2010.

Table 3. U.S. Trade of fresh pineapples (HS-7:08043) average (2002-2010)*

Average Annual Value

of U.S. Trade of Pineapples, 

2002-2010

Average Annual Volume

of U.S. Trade of Pineapples, 

2002-2010

Estimated Malaysian Exports of 

Pineapples to

the Continental United States 

US Imports $334,326,000 617,000 metric tons 2,500 metric tons

(0.4 percent of US imports)

US Exports $12,442,000 13,000 metric tons

Net Imports $321,884,000 604,000 metric tons 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Global Trade Information Services.

*Note: See Appendix for details.

 

1 The tropical specialty fruits include abiu, atemoya, caimito, cherimoya, durian, langsat, longan, loquat, lychee, 

mango, mangosteen, persimmon, rambutan, sapodilla, soursop, starfruit, white sapote, breadfruit, canistel, 

jaboticaba, jackfruit, poha, rollina, and others.
3

Malaysia has also proposed to export to the continental United States 1,500 metric tons of 

jackfruit and 3,000 metric tons of starfruit, for neither of which information on U.S. imports is 

available for comparison.

Potential Impact on Small Entities

As described above, the proposed rule would not have a significant impact on U.S. fresh 

pineapple producers, given the low level of domestic production compared to the volume 

imported from other countries. While there are no data on U.S. jackfruit or starfruit production, 

imports of these tropical fruits likely similarly dwarf domestic (Hawaiian) production. 

Entities most likely to be directly affected by the proposed rule are importers and 

wholesale merchants of fresh fruits and vegetables (NAICS 424480) who trade in these three 

tropical fruits. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established guidelines for 

determining which establishments are to be considered small. Imports/export merchants, agents 

and brokers are identified within the broader wholesaling trade sector. A firm primarily engaged 

in wholesaling fresh fruits and vegetables is considered small if it employs not more than 100 

persons.

2

Table 4. Fresh fruit & vegetable wholesale merchants (NAICS 424480) that may be affected by the rule, 2007

Number of 

Establishments

Number of 

Establishments that 

operated the entire year

Number of Establishments with 

fewer than 100 employees that 

operated the entire year

Small-entity Establishments as a 

percentage of those that operated 

the entire year

5,074 4,437 4207 94.8%

Source: 2007 Economic Census. Sector 42: Wholesale Trade: Subject Series- Establishment & Firm Size: Summary 

Statistics by Employment size of establishments for the United States.

In 2007, nearly 95 percent (4,207 of 4,437) of fruit and vegetable wholesale 

establishments that operated the entire year were small by the SBA standard (table 4). There are 

not official data on the number of wholesale merchants by fresh fruit or vegetable. Thus, we do 

 

2 NAICS Code Report, https://epic.od.nih.gov/naics/Naicscodelist.asp (Subsector 424 – Merchant Wholesalers, 

Nondurable Goods; pp. 15:16 of 39-)
4

not know the number of establishments that import fresh jackfruit, pineapple, or starfruit. 

Commercial consignments of fresh starfruit and jackfruit are not recorded by the U.S. 

Department of Commerce.

Based on the number of fruit and vegetable wholesale establishments that are considered 

small entities, it is reasonable to assume entities affected by the proposed rule would be small,

although effects would not be significant. Small-scale Hawaiian producers of fresh pineapple, 

jackfruit, and starfruit mainly market to consumers within that State and are not expected to be 

significantly affected by the importation of these fruits into the continental United States. Under 

these circumstances, the APHIS Administrator has determined that this action, if promulgated, 

will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
5

 Appendix

Appendix Table 1. Value of U.S. trade of fresh pineapples in 1,000 dollars

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

U.S.

Imports $188,168 $225,670 $231,120 $264,085 $440,215 $230,318 $458,344 $466,567 $504,447

U.S.

Exports

$8,662 $9,878 $14,705 $16,053 $16,544 $10,181 $13,475 $11,992 $10,486

Net 

Imports $179,506 $215,792 $216,415 $248,032 $423,671 $220,137 $444,869 $454,575 $493,961

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Global Trade Information Services, Inc.

Appendix Table 2. Volume of U.S. trade of fresh pineapples in 1,000 metric tons

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

U.S.

Imports 406 477 511 578 634 697 714 720 816

U.S.

Exports 13 12 16 15 16 9 12 11 8 

Net 

Imports 393 465 495 563 618 688 702 709 808

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Global Trade Information Services, Inc.