United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

July 2011

Analysis in Support of Certification that the 

Rule will not have a Significant Economic 

Impact on a Substantial Number of Small 

Entities

Final Rule

APHIS-2010-0020

RIN 0579-AD33

Importation of Tomatoes with Stems from

the Republic of Korea into the United States

Policy & Program Development

Policy Analysis & Development
i

Summary

This rule amends the regulations to allow, under certain conditions, the importation into 

the continental United States of fresh tomatoes with stems from the Republic of Korea (South 

Korea). APHIS has concluded, based on a pest risk analysis, that a systems approach will 

mitigate the risk associated with importing this fruit.

South Korea expects to export one 40-foot shipping container of fresh tomatoes with 

stems per year to the United States. A shipping container can hold about 25 metric tons (MT) of 

tomatoes with stems. In 2009, the United States produced 1.47 million MT of tomatoes, U.S. 

imports reached 1.19 million MT, and U.S. exports were 0.17 million MT. Thus, the total U.S. 

supply of tomatoes for this period was approximately 2.49 million MT (production plus imports 

minus exports). This quantity greatly dwarfs the relatively small amount that is expected to be 

imported from South Korea. 

U.S. tomato production and trade statistics are for all fresh tomatoes, including ones sold 

without stems. We do not have information on how the market for tomatoes with stems may

differ from the market for tomatoes generally. Notwithstanding any significant distinctions 

between the markets for tomatoes with and without stems, we do not foresee this rule resulting in 

significant effects for U.S. tomato producers, large or small. 

We also note that the average price of tomatoes exported from South Korea in 2009 was 

$2,447 per MT, compared to an average price of U.S. tomato imports of less than half that 

amount, $1,180 per MT. This large price difference implies that tomato imports from South 

Korea may not be widely competitive in the United States; South Korean exporters may intend to 

target U.S. specialty vegetable markets or certain ethnic consumer groups with special preference 

for Korean tomatoes with stems if they expect to earn prices comparable to South Korea’s 

average 2009 export price level.

Farms producing tomatoes in open fields are classified within the North American 

Industry Classification System under “Other vegetable (except potato) and melon farming” 

(NAICS 111219). Farms producing tomatoes in greenhouses are classified under “Other food 

crops grown under cover” (NAICS 111419). For both industry classifications, a business is 

considered to be a small entity if its annual receipts are not more than $750,000.
The average market value of crops sold by farms classified within “Other vegetable 

(except potato) and melon farming” in 2007 was $312,333. We infer that the majority of the 

25,809 farms that produced tomatoes in open fields that year were small. The average market 

value of crops sold by farms classified within “Food crops grown under cover” (NAICS 11141) 

in 2007 was $758,687. We infer that at least some of the 2,926 farms that produced tomatoes in 

greenhouses were small entities. 

While the majority of tomato farms are small, the impact of importation of tomatoes with 

stems from South Korea will be negligible. The rule will not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities.
1

Introduction 

APHIS received a request from the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of the 

Republic of Korea (South Korea) to allow the importation of tomatoes with stems into the United 

States. This rule will allow importation of commercial shipments of tomatoes with stems 

produced under a systems approach that will mitigate the risks posed by certain plant pests. 

Conditions for importation include requirements for pest exclusion at the production site, fruit fly

trapping inside and outside the production site, and pest-excluding packinghouse procedures.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to evaluate the potential effects of their 

proposed and final rules on small businesses, small organizations and small governmental 

jurisdictions. Section 604 of the Act requires an agency to prepare a final regulatory flexibility

analysis (FRFA) that describes the expected impact of the rule on small entities. In place of the 

FRFA, the head of an agency may certify that a rule will not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities. This analysis provides the factual basis for 

certification of this rule.

 

U.S. Tomato Production and Trade

The United States is a large producer and importer of fresh tomatoes. U.S. fresh tomato 

production levels and farm values from 2005 to 2009, are shown in table 1. Over the five-year 

period, production averaged 1.55 million metric tons (MT), valued at $1.41 billion. 

Table 1. U.S. fresh tomato production and value, 2005-2009

Source: USDA Economic Research Service: US Tomato Statistics.

Table 2 shows the annual quantity of U.S. tomato imports, 2006-2010. Average yearly 

imports over this period were 1.18 million MT, that is, an amount equivalent to 68 percent of 

average production. Imports have become increasingly important to the U.S. tomato market, and 

Year Production

(metric tons)

Value

(billion dollars)

2005 1,725,150 1.58

2006 1,645,363 1.58

2007 1,525,297 1.17

2008 1,412,352 1.42

2009 1,468,053 1.31
in 2009, they were equivalent to 81 percent of the U.S. 2009 domestic production. Nearly all 

imports were from Mexico (90 percent) and Canada (9 percent). 

Table 2. U.S. tomato imports, fresh or chilled, 2006-2010, metric tons

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported in the Global Trade Atlas.

Table 3 shows the value and price of U.S. tomato imports. The average value of tomato 

imports from 2006 to 2010 was $1.42 billion, that is, an amount that exceeds the average value 

of U.S. production, and for the years 2007-2009, the value of imports exceeded the value of 

domestic production. The import value for 2010 was $1.8 billion, and the average price was 

$1,173 per MT. 

Table 3. The value of U.S. tomato imports, fresh or chilled, 2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported in the Global Trade Atlas.

In comparison to tomato imports, the quantity and value of tomatoes exported by the 

United States are relatively small. In 2010, U.S. tomato exports totaled 120,868 MT (equivalent 

to about 8 percent of the quantity of tomatoes imported), at a total value of about $200 million 

(equivalent to 11 percent of the value of tomatoes imported) (table 4). Nearly all exports are 

Source Quantity % Share

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2010

World 992,408 1,070,966 1,116,098 1,189,602 1,532,489 100

Mexico 844,359 949,695 987,685 1,046,869 1,380,111 90

Canada 135,176 111,697 119,376 130,310 142,590 9

All Other Countries 12,874 9,576 9,038 12,423 9,787 1

Source 

Value Unit Value

U.S. Dollars

(Billion)

Percent 

Share Dollars per 

Metric Ton

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2010 2010

World 1.23 1.22 1.43 1.40 1.80 100 1,173

Mexico 0.92 0.96 1.14 1.13 1.49 83 1,078

Canada 0.28 0.24 0.27 0.25 0.29 16 2,060

All Other Countries 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 1 1,742
destined for Canada and Mexico, the suppliers of nearly all U.S. imports, but the unit value is 

higher: $1,630 per MT for U.S. tomato exports in 2010, compared to $1,173 per MT for U.S. 

imports.

Table 4. U.S. quantity and value of tomato exports, fresh or chilled, 2008-2010, metric tons

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported in the Global Trade Atlas.

Tomatoes are produced both in open fields and in greenhouses. In 2007, there were a 

total of 28,735 U.S. farms that produced tomatoes (25,809 in fields and 2,926 in greenhouses). 

Table 5 shows the States that had over 1,000 field tomato farms in 2007 and corresponding 

acreages. While the number of operations is fairly evenly distributed among the States shown, 

California is clearly dominant in terms of the area planted, with three-fourths of the total U.S. 

tomato acreage in 2007. 

Table 6 presents comparable data for greenhouse tomato farms, and lists States with more 

than 100 greenhouse tomato farms. Once again, operations are widely distributed, with 

Pennsylvania having the largest number. New York had the largest area devoted to greenhouse

tomato production in 2007, with nearly 13 percent of the total. 

Table 5. States with more than 1,000 field tomato farms and total tomato acreages, 2007

Number of 

Field 

Tomato 

Farms

Percentage 

Share of 

U.S. Total

Acres in 

Tomato 

Production

Percentage 

Share of U.S.

Total

California 1,782 6.9 335,133 75.8

Pennsylvania 1,737 6.7 3,458 0.8

North Carolina 1,429 5.5 3,726 0.8

New York 1,407 5.5 2,876 0.7

Ohio 1,351 5.2 7,368 1.7

Source

Quantity

% Share

2010

2009 Value Unit Value

2008 2009 2010

U.S. 

Dollars

(Billion)

Percent 

Share Dollars per 

Metric Ton

World 168,560 170,365 120,868 100 0.20 -- 1,630

Canada 122,912 110,340 87,725 73 0.12 60 1,341

Mexico 43,746 57,722 29,007 24 0.07 37 2,484

All Other 

Countries 1,902 2,303 4,135 3 0.01 <1 1,783
Michigan 1,155 4.5 5,490 1.2

Kentucky 1,142 4.4 899 0.2

All Other States 15,806 61.2 83,276 18.8

United States 25,809 100 442,225 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture, Table 30, Vegetables, Potatoes, and Melons Harvested for Sale.

Table 6. States with more than 100 greenhouse tomato farms and total areas devoted to tomato 

production, 2007

Number of 

Greenhouse 

Tomato 

Farms

Percentage 

Share of 

U.S. Total

Areas (square 

feet) under 

Glass or Other 

Protection in 

Tomato 

Production

Percentage 

Share of U.S. 

Total

Pennsylvania 248 8.5 1,390,317 6.5

New York 145 5.0 2,766,251 12.9

Ohio 136 4.6 357,958 1.7

Michigan 127 4.3 471,665 2.2

North Carolina 127 4.3 471,353 2.2

Missouri 126 4.3 402,971 1.9

Washington 122 4.2 309,555 1.4

Maine 104 3.6 1,173,913 5.5

All Other States 1791 61.2 14182842 65.9

United States 2,926 100 43,949,871 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture, Table 35, Nursery, Greenhouse, Floriculture, Sod, Mushrooms, 

Vegetable Seeds, and Propagative Materials Grown for Sale.

Potential Impact on Small Entities

South Korea expects to export one 40-foot shipping container of fresh tomatoes with 

stems per year to the United States.1 A shipping container can hold about 25 MT of tomatoes 

with stems.2 In 2009, the United States produced 1.47 million MT of tomatoes, U.S. imports 

reached 1.19 million MT, and U.S. exports were 0.17 million MT (tables 1, 2, and 4). Thus, the 

total U.S. supply of tomatoes for this year was approximately 2.49 million MT (production plus 

 

1 USDA-APHIS-PPQ Importation of Fresh Tomato Fruit with Stmes (Solanum Iycopersicum L.) (Synonym: 

Lycopersicon esculentum P. Mill.) from the Republic of Korea into the United States: A Pathway-Initiated Risk 

Assessment

2 USDA-APHIS-PPQ
imports minus exports). In comparison, the quantity of tomatoes with stems expected to be 

imported from South Korea, 25 MT, is a negligible amount. 

U.S. tomato production and trade statistics are for all fresh tomatoes, including ones sold 

without stems. We do not have information on how the market for tomatoes with stems may

differ from the market for tomatoes generally. Notwithstanding any significant distinctions 

between the markets for tomatoes with and without stems, we do not foresee this rule resulting in 

significant effects for U.S. tomato producers, large or small. 

We also note that the average price of tomatoes exported from South Korea in 2009 was 

$2,447 per MT, compared to an average price of U.S. tomato imports of less than half that 

amount, $1,180 per MT.

3

 This large price difference implies that tomato imports from South 

Korea may not be widely competitive in the United States; South Korean exporters may intend to 

target U.S. specialty vegetable markets or certain ethnic consumer groups with preference for 

Korean tomatoes with stems if they expect to earn prices comparable to South Korea’s average 

2009 export price level.

Farms producing tomatoes in open fields are classified within the North American 

Industry Classification System under “Other vegetable (except potato) and melon farming” 

(NAICS 111219).4 Farms producing tomatoes in greenhouses are classified under “Other food 

crops grown under cover” (NAICS 111419).5 For both industry classifications, a business is 

considered to be a small entity if its annual receipts are not more than $750,000.6

The average market value of crops sold by farms classified within “Other vegetable 

(except potato) and melon farming” in 2007 was $312,333.7 We infer that the majority of farms 

producing tomatoes in open fields are small. The average market value of crops sold by farms 

classified within “Food crops grown under cover” (NAICS 11141) in 2007 was $758,687.8 We 

infer that at least some farms producing tomatoes in greenhouses are small entities. 

 

3 U.S. Census Bureau, as reported in the Global Trade Atlas.

4

 http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf

5

Ibid.

6 U.S. Small Business Administration, Table of Small Business Size Standards. 

http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf

7

2007 Census of Agriculture, Table 46. Selected Characteristics of Farms by North American Industry 

Classification System: 2007, 

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_046_046.pdf

8

Ibid. The classification NAICS 11141 includes mushroom production (NAICS 111411).
For field tomato operations, the prominence of small-entity enterprises is substantiated by

2007 Census of Agriculture data on the size distribution of field tomato operations (table 7): 68 

percent of farms grew less than one acre of tomatoes. For greenhouse-grown tomatoes, only the 

total number of farms (2,926 farms) and the area of production (about 44 million square feet) are 

reported. 

Table 7. Size distribution of field tomato operations, 2007

Total Harvested

Total Farms Percent of 

Total Farms Acres Percent of acreage

0.1 to 0.9 acres 17,536 68% 4,721 1%

1.0 to 4.9 acres 6,251 24% 10,467 2%

5.0 to 14.9 acres 856 3% 6,276 1%

15.0 to 24.9 acres 182 1% 3,304 1%

25.0 to 49.9 acres 170 1% 5,904 1%

50.0 to 99.9 acres 133 1% 9,207 2%

100.0 to 249.9 acres 240 1% 38,738 9%

250.0 to 499.9 acres 221 1% 76,591 17%

500.0 to 749.9 acres 88 0% 53,361 12%

750.0 to 999.9 acres 35 0% 29,522 7%

1,000.0 acres or more 97 0% 204,135 46%

United States 25,809 100% 442,225 100%

Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture, Table 34, Vegetables, Potatoes, and Melons Harvested for Sale.

The 2007 Census of Agriculture also contains data on certain sub-categories of tomato 

operations, namely, small family farms and farms having operators who belong to socially 

disadvantaged groups.9 Small family farms have gross farm cash income of less than $250,000. 

Categories of socially disadvantaged groups are women, and persons of Hispanic origin,

American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, African American, and Native Hawaiian or other

Pacific. A tomato grower may qualify as a small family farm and also be counted among those 

for which one or more of the operators belong to a socially disadvantaged group.

Table 8 shows that among the 25,809 farms that grew field tomatoes, 22,522 (87 percent) 

were small family farms. The “residential/lifestyle” farms comprised the largest single category

 

9

For definitions and information, see: USDA ERS. Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 

2010 edition, EIB-66, July 2010. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB66/EIB66.pdf
of small family farms that produced field tomatoes. Table 8 also shows that among the 2,926 

farms that grew greenhouse tomatoes, 2,406 (82 percent) were small family farms. The “farming 

occupation/lower sales” farms were the largest single category of small family farms that 

produced greenhouse tomatoes.

Table 8. Number and percentage of small family farms that produced field and greenhouse tomatoes, 

2007

Limited 

Resource 

Farms

Retirement 

Farms

Residential/

Lifestyle 

Farms

Farming 

Occupation/

Lower Sales

Farming 

Occupation/

Higher Sales

Total of 

Small 

Family 

Farms

Total 

Tomato 

Farms

Field 

Tomato 

Farms

Number of 

Farms

4,443 5,017 6,996 4,850 1,216 22,522 25,809

Percentage 17% 19% 27% 19% 5% 87% 100%

Greenhouse 

Tomato 

Farms

Number of 

Farms

421 276 587 736 386 2,406 2,926

Percentage 14% 9% 20% 25% 13% 82% 100%

Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture.

Table 9 shows the number and percentage of tomato farms that had operators belonging 

to socially disadvantaged groups in 2007: 12 percent of field tomato farms had operators 

belonging to a socially disadvantaged group based upon ethnicity, and 17 percent had a woman 

as the principal operator. Of 2,926 greenhouse tomato farms, 7 percent had operators belonging

to a socially disadvantaged group based upon ethnicity and 20 percent had a woman as the 

principal operator. 

Table 9. Number and percentage of field and greenhouse tomato farms with operators belonging to a 

socially disadvantaged group, 2007

Farms 

where 

the

principal 

operator 

is female

Farms 

where an 

operator is 

of 

Spanish, 

Hispanic, 

or Latino 

origin

Farms where 

an operator 

reports race 

as American 

Indian or 

Alaska 

Native

Farms 

where an 

operator 

reports 

race as 

Asian

Farms where 

an operator 

reports race 

as Black or 

African 

American

Farms where 

an operator 

reports race 

as Native 

Hawaiian or 

Other Pacific 

Islander

Total of Farms 

Belonging to 

Socially 

Disadvantaged Groups

(Ethnicity 

Based)

All 

Farms

Field 

Tomato 

Farms

Number of 

Farms

4,311. 958. 820. 600. 704. 50. 3,132 25,809

Percentage 17% 4% 3% 2% 3% 0% 12% 100%
Greenhouse 

Tomato 

Farms

Number of 

Farms

588 72 46 49 17 6 190 2,926

Percentage 20% 2% 2% 2% 1% 0% 7% 100%

Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture.

As observed for both field and greenhouse tomato farms, most are small family farms and 

some have operators who belong to socially disadvantaged groups. Economic effects of the rule 

for these farms are not expected to differ from the effects for tomato farms generally, that is, we 

do not expect the rule to have any noticeable impact on U.S. tomato growers regardless of the 

size of operation or operator’s classification. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has determined that this action will not have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities.
References

Census of Agriculture, 2007, 

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/index.asp

Global Trade Atlas. Retrieved (2010, July 1), http://www.gtis.com/gta/default.cfm

U.S. Small Business Administration. U.S. Small Business Administration: Table of Small 

Business Size Standards Match to North American Industry Classification System 

http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf

USDA Economic Research Service: U.S. Tomato Statistics (92010), 2010, 

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1210