This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

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

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

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new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

47047 

Vol. 74, No. 177 

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Parts 905 and 944 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0002; FV09–905–1 

FIR] 

Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines and 

Tangelos Grown in Florida and 

Imported Grapefruit; Relaxation of Size 

Requirements for Grapefruit 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim final rule 

as final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule that relaxed the minimum size 

requirement for white seedless 

grapefruit prescribed under the 

marketing order for oranges, grapefruit, 

tangerines, and tangelos grown in 

Florida (order) and the grapefruit import 

regulation. The interim final rule 

relaxed the minimum size requirement 

for domestic and import shipments from 

3 9⁄16 inches (size 48) to 3 5⁄16 inches 

(size 56). This change is expected to 

maximize fresh white seedless 

grapefruit shipments and provide 

greater flexibility to handlers and 

importers. 

DATES: Effective September 16, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Jamieson, Marketing Specialist, or 

Christian D. Nissen, Regional Manager, 

Southeast Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324– 

3375, Fax: (863) 325–8793, or E-mail: 

Doris.Jamieson@ams.usda.gov or 

Christian.Nissen@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/

AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?

template=TemplateN&page=Marketing

OrdersSmallBusinessGuide; or by 

contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order 

Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–2491, Fax: (202) 

720–8938, or E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 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 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 of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

The handling of oranges, grapefruit, 

tangerines, and tangelos grown in 

Florida is regulated by 7 CFR part 905. 

Prior to this change, the minimum size 

requirement for domestic shipments of 

white seedless grapefruit was 3 9⁄16

inches, while the minimum size 

requirement for export shipments was 

3 5⁄16 inches. The more restrictive size 

requirement for domestic shipments 

was established in response to the 

domestic market preference for larger 

sized fruit, while the export market 

favored the smaller sized fruit. 

However, with total shipments of white 

seedless grapefruit declining, handlers 

need to be able to ship fruit to 

whichever markets become available. 

Therefore, this rule continues in effect 

the rule that relaxed the minimum size 

requirement for domestic shipments 

from 3 9⁄16 inches to 3 5⁄16 inches, 

making the minimum size requirement 

the same for both domestic and export 

markets. 

Imported grapefruit are subject to 

regulations specified in 7 CFR part 944. 

Under those regulations, imported 

grapefruit must meet the same 

minimum size requirements as specified 

for domestic grapefruit under the order. 

Therefore, the minimum size 

requirement was also relaxed from 39⁄16

inches to 35⁄16 inches for white seedless 

grapefruit imported into the United 

States. 

In an interim final rule published in 

the Federal Register on April 7, 2009, 

and effective on April 8, 2009 (74 FR 

15641, Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0002, 

FV09–905–1 IFR), §§ 905.306 and 

944.106 were amended by changing the 

minimum diameter for ‘‘Seedless, 

except red’’ from 39⁄16 inches to 35⁄16

inches. 

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 

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 the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are approximately 40 Florida 

grapefruit handlers subject to regulation 

under the marketing order and about 

8,000 citrus producers in the production 

area. There are approximately 10 

grapefruit importers. Small agricultural 

service firms, which include grapefruit 

handlers and importers, are defined by 

the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) as those having annual receipts of 

less than $7,000,000, and small 

agricultural producers are defined as 

those whose annual receipts are less 

than $750,000 (13 CFR 121.201). 

According to industry and Committee 

data, the average annual f.o.b. price for 

fresh Florida white seedless grapefruit 

during the 2007–08 season was $10.30 

per 4⁄5-bushel carton, and total fresh 


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47048 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 177 / Tuesday, September 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

shipments were around 3.3 million 

cartons. Based on the average f.o.b. 

price, a majority of Florida white 

seedless grapefruit handlers could be 

considered small businesses under 

SBA’s definition. In addition, based on 

production and grower prices reported 

by the National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, and the total number of Florida 

citrus producers, the average annual 

producer revenue is less than $750,000. 

Information from the Foreign 

Agricultural Service, USDA, indicates 

that the dollar value of imported fresh 

grapefruit ranged from approximately 

$2.14 million in 2006 to $2.06 million 

in 2008. Using these values, all 

importers would have annual receipts of 

less than $7 million for grapefruit. 

Therefore, the majority of handlers, 

producers and importers of white 

seedless grapefruit may be classified as 

small entities. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that relaxed the minimum size 

requirement for white seedless 

grapefruit grown in Florida and 

imported white seedless grapefruit. This 

rule relaxes the minimum size 

requirement for domestic and import 

shipments from 39⁄16 inches to 35⁄16

inches. This change maximizes fresh 

white seedless grapefruit shipments and 

provides greater flexibility to handlers 

and importers. This rule amends the 

provisions of §§ 905.306 and 944.106. 

Authority for the change in the order’s 

rules and regulations is provided in 

§ 905.52. The change in the import 

regulation is required under section 8e 

of the Act. 

This action is not expected to increase 

costs associated with the order 

requirements or the grapefruit import 

regulation. Rather, this action represents 

a cost savings for handlers and has the 

potential to increase industry returns. 

This change makes the minimum size 

requirement the same for both the 

domestic and export markets. Having 

the same minimum size requirement for 

both domestic and export shipments 

makes it easier to move fruit to available 

markets without having to repack fruit 

to meet the differing size requirements. 

This reduces costs and provides greater 

flexibility for handlers. 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 grapefruit handlers, 

growers, and importers, regardless of 

their size. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

grapefruit 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. In addition, USDA has 

not identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap or conflict with 

this rule. 

Further, 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. Like all Committee 

meetings, the December 16, 2008, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. 

Comments on the interim final rule 

were required to be received on or 

before April 8, 2009. No comments were 

received. Therefore, for the reasons 

given in the interim final rule, we are 

adopting the interim final rule as a final 

rule, without change. 

To view the interim final rule, go to: 

http://www.regulations.gov/search/

Regs/home.html#searchResults?Ne=

11+8+8053+8098+8074+8066+8084+1&

Ntt=AMS–FV–09–0002&Ntk=All&Ntx=

mode+matchall&N=0. 

This action also affirms information 

contained in the interim final 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 final rule, without 

change, as published in the Federal 

Register (74 FR 15641, April 7, 2009) 

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. 

PARTS 905 AND 944—[AMENDED] 

■ Accordingly, the interim final rule 

that amended 7 CFR parts 905 and 944 

and that was published at 74 FR 15641 

on April 7, 2009, is adopted as a final 

rule, without change. 

Dated: September 9, 2009. 

Rayne Pegg, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–22114 Filed 9–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 959 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0012; FV09–959–1 

FIR] 

Onions Grown in South Texas; Change 

in Regulatory Period 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim final rule 

as final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule that revised the regulatory 

period during which minimum grade, 

size, quality, and maturity requirements 

are in effect for onions grown in South 

Texas under Marketing Order No. 959 

(order). The interim final rule shortened 

the regulatory period from March 1 

through July 15 to March 1 through June 

4. The relaxation in the interim final 

rule was necessary to enable producers 

and handlers to compete more 

effectively in the marketplace. 

DATES: Effective Date: Effective 

September 16, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Belinda G. Garza, Regional Manager, 

Texas Marketing Field Office, Marketing 

Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (956) 682–2833, Fax: (956) 

682–5942; or E-mail: 

Belinda.Garza@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/

AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?

template=TemplateN&page=Marketing

OrdersSmallBusinessGuide; or by 

contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order 

Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–2491, Fax: (202) 

720–8938, or E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

959, as amended (7 CFR part 959), 


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