17362 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 67 / Monday, April 9, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

This rule invites comments on the 

exemption of onions for export from the 

handling regulations prescribed under 

the Texas onion marketing order. Any 

comments received will be considered 

prior to finalization of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim final rule, as hereinafter set 

forth, will tend to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) This rule relaxes the order’s 

regulatory requirements by exempting 

South Texas onions shipped to the 

export market from the order’s handling 

regulations; (2) onion handlers are 

aware of this recommendation and need 

no additional time to comply with the 

relaxed requirements; (3) the shipping 

season for South Texas onions started 

around March 1, thus this rule should 

be effective as soon as possible to ensure 

that all handlers can take advantage of 

the relaxation for as much of the season 

as possible; and (4) this rule provides a 

60-day comment period, and any 

comments received will be considered 

prior to finalization of this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 959 

Onions, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 959 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 959—ONIONS GROWN IN 

SOUTH TEXAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 959 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 959.322 is amended by 

revising paragraph (e)(1) and the 

introductory sentence of paragraph (f) to 

read as follows: 

* * * * * 

(e) Special purpose shipments. (1) 

The minimum grade, size, quality, and 

inspection requirements set forth in 

paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section 

shall not be applicable to shipments of 

onions for charity, relief, export, and 

processing if handled in accordance 

with paragraph (f) of this section. 

* * * * * 

(f) Safeguards. Each handler making 

shipments of onions for charity, relief, 

export, processing, or experimental 

purposes shall: 

* * * * * 

Dated: April 4, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–1749 Filed 4–4–07; 4:27 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 989 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–07–0027; FV07–989–

1 IFR] 

Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown 

in California; Final Free and Reserve 

Percentages for 2006–07 Crop Natural 

(sun-dried) Seedless Raisins 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim final rule with request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule establishes final 

volume regulation percentages for 2006–

07 crop Natural (sun-dried) Seedless 

(NS) raisins covered under the Federal 

marketing order for California raisins 

(order). The order regulates the handling 

of raisins produced from grapes grown 

in California and is locally administered 

by the Raisin Administrative Committee 

(Committee). The volume regulation 

percentages are 90 percent free and 10 

percent reserve. The percentages are 

intended to help stabilize raisin 

supplies and prices, and strengthen 

market conditions. 

DATES: Effective April 10, 2007. The 

volume regulation percentages apply to 

acquisitions of NS raisins from the 

2006–07 crop until the reserve raisins 

from that crop are disposed of under the 

marketing order. Comments received by 

June 8, 2007, will be considered prior to 

issuance of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938; or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

should reference the docket number and 

the date and page number of this issue 

of the Federal Register and will be 

made available for public inspection in 

the Office of the Docket Clerk during 

regular business hours, or can be viewed 

at: http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose 

M. Aguayo, Marketing Specialist, or 

Kurt J. Kimmel, Regional Manager, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487–

5901; Fax: (559) 487–5906; or E-mail: 

Rose.Aguayo@usda.gov or 

Kurt.Kimmel@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation 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@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

and Order No. 989, both as amended (7 

CFR part 989), regulating the handling 

of raisins produced from grapes grown 

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.’’

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. Under the order provisions now 

in effect, final free and reserve 

percentages may be established for 

raisins acquired by handlers during the 

crop year. This rule establishes final free 

and reserve percentages for NS raisins 

for the 2006–07 crop year, which began 

August 1, 2006, and ends July 31, 2007. 

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 USDA 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 USDA 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 67 / Monday, April 9, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 17363 

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 USDA’s ruling on 

the petition, provided an action is filed 

not later than 20 days after the date of 

the entry of the ruling. 

This rule establishes final volume 

regulation percentages for 2006–07 crop 

NS raisins covered under the order. The 

volume regulation percentages are 90 

percent free and 10 percent reserve. Free 

tonnage raisins may be sold by handlers 

to any market. Reserve raisins must be 

held in a pool for the account of the 

Committee and are disposed of through 

various programs authorized under the 

order. For example, reserve raisins may 

be sold by the Committee to handlers for 

free use or to replace part of the free 

tonnage raisins they exported; used in 

diversion programs; carried over as a 

hedge against a short crop; or disposed 

of in other outlets not competitive with 

those for free tonnage raisins, such as 

government purchase, distilleries, or 

animal feed. 

The volume regulation percentages 

are intended to help stabilize raisin 

supplies and prices, and strengthen 

market conditions. The Committee 

unanimously recommended final 

percentages for NS raisins on November 

21, 2006, and on January 23, 2007. 

Computation of Trade Demands 

Section 989.54 of the order prescribes 

procedures and time frames to be 

followed in establishing volume 

regulation. This includes methodology 

used to calculate percentages. Pursuant 

to § 989.54(a) of the order, the 

Committee met on August 15, 2006, to 

review shipment and inventory data, 

and other matters relating to the 

supplies of raisins of all varietal types. 

The Committee computed a trade 

demand for each varietal type for which 

a free tonnage percentage might be 

recommended. Trade demand is 

computed using a formula specified in 

the order and, for each varietal type, is 

equal to 90 percent of the prior year’s 

shipments of free tonnage and reserve 

tonnage raisins sold for free use into all 

market outlets, adjusted by subtracting 

the carryin on August 1 of the current 

crop year, and adding the desirable 

carryout at the end of that crop year. As 

specified in § 989.154(a), the desirable 

carryout for NS raisins shall equal the 

total shipments of free tonnage during 

August and September for each of the 

past 5 crop years, converted to a natural 

condition basis, dropping the high and 

low figures, and dividing the remaining 

sum by three, or 60,000 natural 

condition tons, whichever is higher. For 

all other varietal types, the desirable 

carryout shall equal the total shipments 

of free tonnage during August, 

September and one-half of October for 

each of the past 5 crop years, converted 

to a natural condition basis, dropping 

the high and low figures, and dividing 

the remaining sum by three. In 

accordance with these provisions, the 

Committee computed and announced 

the 2006–07 trade demand for NS 

raisins at 219,870 tons as shown below. 

COMPUTED TRADE DEMANDS

[Natural condition tons] 

NS raisins 

Prior year’s shipments .............. 301,460 

Multiplied by 90 percent ........... 0.90 

Equals adjusted base ............... 271,314 

Minus carryin inventory ............ 111,444 

Plus desirable carryout ............. 60,000 

Equals computed NS trade Demand ..................................... 219,870 

Computation of Preliminary Volume 

Regulation Percentages 

Section 989.54(b) of the order requires 

that the Committee announce, on or 

before October 5, preliminary crop 

estimates and determine whether 

volume regulation is warranted for the 

varietal types for which it computed a 

trade demand. That section allows the 

Committee to extend the October 5 date 

up to 5 business days if warranted by a 

late crop. 

The Committee met on September 6, 

2006, and announced preliminary 

percentages for Zante Currant (ZC) 

raisins. They met again on October 4, 

2006, and announced preliminary 

percentages and a preliminary crop 

estimate for NS raisins of 259,557 tons, 

which is about 21 percent lower than 

the 10-year average of 327,410 tons. NS 

raisins are the major varietal type of 

California raisin. Adding the carryin 

inventory of 111,444 tons to the 

259,557-ton crop estimate resulted in a 

total available supply of 371,001 tons, 

which was significantly higher (169 

percent) than the 219,870-ton trade 

demand. Thus, the Committee 

determined that volume regulation for 

NS raisins was warranted. The 

Committee announced preliminary free 

and reserve percentages for NS raisins, 

which released 85 percent of the 

computed trade demand since a 

minimum field price (price paid by 

handlers to producers for their free 

tonnage raisins) had been established. 

The preliminary percentages were 72 

percent free and 28 percent reserve. 

In addition, preliminary percentages 

were also announced for Dipped 

Seedless, Golden Seedless, and Other 

Seedless raisins. It was ultimately 

determined at Committee meetings held 

on November 21, 2006, and January 23, 

2007, that volume regulation was only 

warranted for NS raisins. As in past 

seasons, the Committee submitted its 

marketing policy to USDA for review. 

Computation of Final Volume 

Regulation Percentages 

Pursuant to § 989.54(c), at its 

November 21, 2006, meeting, the 

Committee announced interim 

percentages for NS raisins to release 

slightly less than the full trade demand. 

Based on a revised NS crop estimate of 

244,300 tons (down from the October 

estimate of 259,557 tons), interim 

percentages for NS raisins were 

announced at 89.75 percent free and 

10.25 percent reserve. 

Pursuant to § 989.54(d), the 

Committee also recommended final 

percentages at its November 21, 2006, 

meeting to release the full trade 

demands for NS raisins. Final 

percentages were recommended at 90 

percent free and 10 percent reserve. The 

Committee’s calculations and 

determinations to arrive at final 

percentages for NS raisins are shown in 

the table below: 

FINAL VOLUME REGULATION

PERCENTAGES

[Natural condition tons] 

NS raisins 

Trade demand .......................... 219,870 

Divided by crop estimate .......... 244,300 

Equals the free percentage ...... 90.00 

100 minus free percentage 

equals the reserve percentage ........................................ 10.00 

By the week ending February 3, 2007, 

data showed that deliveries of NS 

raisins exceeded the Committee’s crop 

estimate of 244,300 tons. By that date 

deliveries totaled 262,477 tons. Thus, 

deliveries are likely to be at least 18,000 

tons higher than estimated by the 

Committee during the fall. Based on 

this, the Committee’s recommendation 

will provide handlers 6.2 percent more 

raisins than would be provided if a 

262,477 ton estimate had been used, but 

the additional tonnage is not expected 

to result in disorderly marketing 

conditions. 

In addition, USDA’s ‘‘Guidelines for 

Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crop 

Marketing Orders’’ (Guidelines) specify 

that 110 percent of recent years’ sales 

should be made available to primary 

markets each season for marketing 

orders utilizing reserve pool authority. 


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This goal will be met for NS raisins by 

the establishment of final percentages, 

which release 100 percent of the trade 

demand and the offer of additional 

reserve raisins for sale to handlers under 

the ‘‘10 plus 10 offers.’’ As specified in 

§ 989.54(g), the 10 plus 10 offers are two 

offers of reserve pool raisins which are 

made available to handlers during each 

season. For each such offer, a quantity 

of reserve raisins equal to 10 percent of 

the prior year’s shipments is made 

available for free use. Handlers may sell 

their 10 plus 10 raisins to any market. 

For NS raisins, the first 10 plus 10 

offer was made in February 2007. A 

total of 30,146 tons was made available 

to raisin handlers. The second 10 plus 

10 offer of 20,923 tons (the balance 

remaining in the reserve pool) will be 

made available to handlers by July 31, 

2007. Adding the total figure of 51,648 

tons of 10 plus 10 raisins to the 219,870 

ton trade demand figure, plus the 

111,444 tons of 2005–06 carryin NS 

inventory, equates to 382,962 tons of 

natural condition raisins, or 360,819 

tons of packed raisins, that are available 

to handlers for free use or primary 

markets. This is about 127 percent of the 

quantity of NS raisins shipped during 

the 2005–06 crop year (301,460 natural 

condition tons or 284,030 packed tons). 

In addition to the 10 plus 10 offers, 

§ 989.67(j) of the order provides 

authority for sales of reserve raisins to 

handlers under certain conditions such 

as a national emergency, crop failure, 

change in economic or marketing 

conditions, or if free tonnage shipments 

in the current crop year exceed 

shipments during a comparable period 

of the prior crop year. Such reserve 

raisins may be sold by handlers to any 

market. When implemented, the 

additional offers of reserve raisins make 

even more raisins available to primary 

markets, which is consistent with 

USDA’s Guidelines. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

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 

initial 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 20 handlers 

of California raisins who are subject to 

regulation under the order and 

approximately 4,500 raisin producers in 

the regulated area. Small agricultural 

firms are defined by the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) (13 CFR 121.201) 

as those having annual receipts of less 

than $6,500,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000. 

Eleven of the 20 handlers subject to 

regulation have annual sales estimated 

to be at least $6,500,000, and the 

remaining 9 handlers have sales less 

than $6,500,000. No more than 9 

handlers and a majority of producers of 

California raisins may be classified as 

small entities. 

Since 1949, the California raisin 

industry has operated under a Federal 

marketing order. The order contains 

authority to, among other things, limit 

the portion of a given year’s crop that 

can be marketed freely in any outlet by 

raisin handlers. This volume control 

mechanism is used to stabilize supplies 

and prices and strengthen market 

conditions. If the primary market (the 

normal domestic market) is oversupplied with raisins, grower prices 

decline substantially. 

Pursuant to § 989.54(d) of the order, 

this rule establishes final volume 

regulation percentages for 2006–07 crop 

NS raisins. The volume regulation 

percentages are 90 percent free and 10 

percent reserve. Free tonnage raisins 

may be sold by handlers to any market. 

Reserve raisins must be held in a pool 

for the account of the Committee and 

are disposed of through certain 

programs authorized under the order. 

Volume regulation is warranted this 

season because the revised crop 

estimate of 244,300 tons combined with 

the carryin inventory of 111,444 tons 

results in a total available supply of 

355,744 tons, which is about 162 

percent higher than the 219,870 ton 

trade demand. 

Handlers provide their best estimate 

on the amount of tonnage growers will 

deliver each crop year. By the week 

ending February 3, 2007, data showed 

that deliveries of NS raisins exceeded 

the Committee’s crop estimate of 

244,300 tons by 18,177 tons. The higher 

deliveries further warrant volume 

regulation, as the total available supply 

is currently expected to be 373,921 tons, 

which is about 170 percent higher than 

the 219,870 ton trade demand. 

The volume regulation procedures 

have helped the industry address its 

marketing problems by keeping supplies 

in balance with domestic and export 

market needs, and strengthening market 

conditions. The volume regulation 

procedures fully supply the domestic 

and export markets, provide for market 

expansion, and help reduce the burden 

of oversupplies in the domestic market. 

Raisin grapes are a perennial crop, so 

production in any year is dependent 

upon plantings made in earlier years. 

The sun-drying method of producing 

raisins involves considerable risk 

because of variable weather patterns. 

Even though the product and the 

industry are viewed as mature, the 

industry has experienced considerable 

change over the last several decades. 

Before the 1975–76 crop year, more than 

50 percent of the raisins were packed 

and sold directly to consumers. Now, 

about 64 percent of raisins are sold in 

bulk. This means that raisins are now 

sold to consumers mostly as an 

ingredient in another product such as 

cereal and baked goods. In addition, for 

a few years in the early 1970’s, over 50 

percent of the raisin grapes were sold to 

the wine market for crushing. Since 

then, the percent of raisin-variety grapes 

sold to the wine industry has decreased. 

California’s grapes are classified into 

three groups—table grapes, wine grapes, 

and raisin-variety grapes. Raisin-variety 

grapes are the most versatile of the three 

types. They can be marketed as fresh 

grapes, crushed for juice in the 

production of wine or juice concentrate, 

or dried into raisins. Annual 

fluctuations in the fresh grape, wine, 

and concentrate markets, as well as 

weather-related factors, cause 

fluctuations in raisin supply. This type 

of situation introduces a certain amount 

of variability into the raisin market. 

Although the size of the crop for raisinvariety grapes may be known, the 

amount dried for raisins depends on the 

demand for crushing. This makes the 

marketing of raisins a more difficult 

task. These supply fluctuations can 

result in producer price instability and 

disorderly market conditions. 

Volume regulation is helpful to the 

raisin industry because it lessens the 

impact of such fluctuations and 

contributes to orderly marketing. For 

example, producer prices for NS raisins 

remained fairly steady between the 

1993–94 through the 1997–98 seasons, 

although production varied. As shown 

in the table below, during those years, 

production varied from a low of 272,063 

tons in 1996–97 to a high of 387,007 

tons in 1993–94. 

According to Committee data, the 

total producer return per ton during 

those years, which includes proceeds 

from both free tonnage plus reserve pool 

raisins, has varied from a low of $904.60 

in 1993–94 to a high of $1,049.20 in 


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1996–97. Total producer prices for the 

1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons 

increased significantly due to back-toback short crops during those years. 

Record large crops followed and 

producer prices dropped dramatically 

for the 2000–01 through 2003–04 crop 

years, as inventories grew while 

demand stagnated. However, the 

producer prices were higher for the 

2004–05 and the 2005–06 crop years, as 

noted below: 

NATURAL SEEDLESS PRODUCER PRICES

Crop year 

Deliveries 

(natural condition 

tons) 

Producer prices 

(per ton) 

2005–06 ....................................................................................................................................................... 319,126 1 $998.25 

2004–05 ....................................................................................................................................................... 265,262 2 1210.00 

2003–04 ....................................................................................................................................................... 296,864 1 567.00 

2002–03 ....................................................................................................................................................... 388,010 1 491.20 

2001–02 ....................................................................................................................................................... 377,328 650.94 

2000–01 ....................................................................................................................................................... 432,616 603.36 

1999–2000 ................................................................................................................................................... 299,910 1,211.25 

1998–99 ....................................................................................................................................................... 240,469 2 1,290.00 

1997–98 ....................................................................................................................................................... 382,448 946.52 

1996–97 ....................................................................................................................................................... 272,063 1,049.20 

1995–96 ....................................................................................................................................................... 325,911 1,007.19 

1994–95 ....................................................................................................................................................... 378,427 928.27 

1993–94 ....................................................................................................................................................... 387,007 904.60 

1 Return-to-date, reserve pool still open. 

2 No volume regulation. 

There are essentially two broad 

markets for raisins—domestic and 

export. Domestic shipments have been 

generally increasing in recent years. 

Although domestic shipments decreased 

from a high of 204,805 packed tons 

during the 1990–91 crop year to a low 

of 156,325 packed tons in 1999–2000, 

they increased from 174,117 packed 

tons during the 2000–01 crop year to 

186,358 tons during the 2005–06 crop 

year. Export shipments ranged from a 

high of 107,931 packed tons in 1991–92 

to a low of 91,599 packed tons in the 

1999–2000 crop year. Since that time, 

export shipments increased to 106,755 

tons of raisins during the 2004–05 crop 

year, but fell to 97,672 tons in 2005–06. 

The per capita consumption of raisins 

has declined from 2.07 pounds in 1988 

to 1.44 pounds in 2005. This decrease 

is consistent with the decrease in the 

per capita consumption of dried fruits 

in general, which is due to the 

increasing availability of most types of 

fresh fruit throughout the year. 

While the overall demand for raisins 

has increased in two out of the last three 

years (as reflected in increased 

commercial shipments), production has 

been decreasing. Deliveries of NS dried 

raisins from producers to handlers 

reached an all-time high of 432,616 tons 

in the 2000–01 crop year. This large 

crop was preceded by two short crop 

years; deliveries were 240,469 tons in 

1998–99 and 299,910 tons in 1999–

2000. Deliveries for the 2000–01 crop 

year soared to a record level because of 

increased bearing acreage and yields. 

Deliveries for the 2001–02 crop year 

were at 377,328 tons, 388,010 tons for 

the 2002–03 crop year, 296,864 for the 

2003–04 crop year, and 265,262 tons for 

the 2004–05 crop year. After three crop 

years of high production and a large 

2001–02 carryin inventory, the industry 

diverted raisin production to other uses 

or removed bearing vines. Diversions/ 

removals totaled 41,000 acres in 2001; 

27,000 acres in 2002; and 15,000 acres 

of vines in 2003. These actions resulted 

in declining deliveries of 296,864 tons 

for the 2003–04 crop year and 265,262 

tons for the 2004–05 crop year. 

Although deliveries increased in 2005–

06 to 319,126 tons, this may have been 

because fewer growers opted to contract 

with wineries, as raisin variety grapes 

crushed in 2005–06 decreased by 

161,000 green tons, the equivalent of 

over 40,000 tons of raisins. 

The order permits the industry to 

exercise supply control provisions, 

which allow for the establishment of 

free and reserve percentages, and 

establishment of a reserve pool. One of 

the primary purposes of establishing 

free and reserve percentages is to 

equilibrate supply and demand. If raisin 

markets are over-supplied with product, 

producer prices will decline. 

Raisins are generally marketed at 

relatively lower price levels in the more 

elastic export market than in the more 

inelastic domestic market. This results 

in a larger volume of raisins being 

marketed and enhances producer 

returns. In addition, this system allows 

the U.S. raisin industry to be more 

competitive in export markets. 

The reserve percentage limits what 

handlers can market as free tonnage. 

Data available as of February 7, 2007, 

showed that deliveries of NS raisins 

were at 262,477 tons. The 10 percent 

reserve would limit the total free 

tonnage to 236,229 natural condition 

tons (.90 × the 262,477 ton crop). 

Adding the 236,229 ton figure with the 

carryin of 111,444 tons, plus the 51,648 

tons of reserve raisins that are available 

for purchase and release to handlers 

during the 2006–07 crop year under the 

10 plus 10 offers, would make the total 

free supply equal to 399,321 natural 

condition tons. 

To assess the impact that volume 

control has on the prices producers 

receive for their product, a price 

dependent econometric model was 

estimated. This model is used to 

estimate producer prices both with and 

without the use of volume control. The 

volume control used by the raisin 

industry would result in decreased 

shipments to primary markets. Without 

volume control the primary market 

(domestic) could be over-supplied 

resulting in lower producer prices and 

the build-up of unwanted inventories. 

With volume controls, producer 

prices are estimated to be approximately 

$65 per ton higher than without volume 

controls. This price increase is 

beneficial to all producers regardless of 

size and enhances producers’ total 

revenues in comparison to no volume 

control. Establishing a reserve allows 

the industry to help stabilize supplies in 

both domestic and export markets, 

while improving returns to producers. 

Free and reserve percentages are 

established by varietal type, and usually 

in years when the supply exceeds the 

trade demand by a large enough margin 


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17366 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 67 / Monday, April 9, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

that the Committee believes volume 

regulation is necessary to maintain 

market stability. Accordingly, in 

assessing whether to apply volume 

regulation or, as an alternative, not to 

apply such regulation, it was 

determined that volume regulation is 

warranted this season for only one of 

the nine raisin varietal types defined 

under the order. 

The free and reserve percentages 

established by this rule release the full 

trade demand and apply uniformly to 

all handlers in the industry, regardless 

of size. For NS raisins, with the 

exception of the 1998–99 and 2004–05 

crop years, small and large raisin 

producers and handlers have been 

operating under volume regulation 

percentages every year since 1983–84. 

There are no known additional costs 

incurred by small handlers that are not 

incurred by large handlers. While the 

level of benefits of this rulemaking are 

difficult to quantify, the stabilizing 

effects of the volume regulations impact 

small and large handlers positively by 

helping them maintain and expand 

markets even though raisin supplies 

fluctuate widely from season to season. 

Likewise, price stability positively 

impacts small and large producers by 

allowing them to better anticipate the 

revenues their raisins will generate. 

There are some reporting, 

recordkeeping and other compliance 

requirements under the order. The 

reporting and recordkeeping burdens 

are necessary for compliance purposes 

and for developing statistical data for 

maintenance of the program. The 

requirements are the same as those 

applied in past seasons. Thus, this 

action imposes no additional reporting 

or recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large raisin handlers. The forms 

require information which is readily 

available from handler records and 

which can be provided without data 

processing equipment or trained 

statistical staff. The information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements have been previously 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control 

No. 0581–0178. 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. 

The AMS is committed to complying 

with the E-Government Act, to promote 

the use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

In addition, USDA has not identified 

any relevant Federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this 

rule. 

Further, the Committee’s meetings 

were widely publicized throughout the 

raisin industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meetings and participate in the 

Committee’s deliberations. Like all 

Committee meetings, the August 15, 

2006, September 6, 2006, October 4, 

2006, November 21, 2006, and January 

23, 2007, meetings were public meetings 

and all entities, both large and small, 

were able to express their views on this 

issue. 

Also, the Committee has a number of 

appointed subcommittees to review 

certain issues and make 

recommendations to the Committee. 

The Committee’s Reserve Sales and 

Marketing Subcommittee met on August 

15, 2006, September 6, 2006, October 4, 

2006, November 21, 2006, and January 

23, 2007, and discussed these issues in 

detail. Those meetings were also public 

meetings and both large and small 

entities were able to participate and 

express their views. Finally, interested 

persons are invited to submit 

information on the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

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. 

This rule invites comments on the 

establishment of final volume regulation 

percentages for 2006–07 crop NS raisins 

covered under the order. Any comments 

received will be considered prior to 

finalization of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material 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. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect, and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) The relevant provisions of 

this part require that the percentages 

designated herein for the 2006–07 crop 

year apply to all NS raisins acquired 

from the beginning of that crop year; (2) 

handlers are currently marketing their 

2006–07 crop NS raisins and this action 

should be taken promptly to achieve the 

intended purpose of making the full 

trade demand available to handlers; (3) 

handlers are aware of this action, which 

was unanimously recommended at a 

public meeting, and need no additional 

time to comply with these percentages; 

and (4) this interim final rule provides 

a 60-day comment period, and all 

comments timely received will be 

considered prior to finalization of this 

rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 989 

Grapes, Marketing agreements, 

Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 989 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 989—RAISINS PRODUCED 

FROM GRAPES GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 989 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 989.257 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 989.257 Final free and reserve 

percentages. 

(a) The final percentages for the 

respective varietal type(s) of raisins 

acquired by handlers during the crop 

year beginning August 1, which shall be 

free tonnage and reserve tonnage, 

respectively, are designated as follows: 

Crop year Varietal type Free 

percentage 

Reserve 

percentage 

2003–2004 .................................................................. Natural (sun-dried) Seedless ..................................... 70 30 

2005–2006 .................................................................. Natural (sun-dried) Seedless ..................................... 82 .50 17 .50 

2006–2007 .................................................................. Natural (sun-dried) Seedless ..................................... 90 10 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 67 / Monday, April 9, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 17367 

(b) The volume regulation percentages 

apply to acquisitions of the varietal type 

of raisins for the applicable crop year 

until the reserve raisins for that crop are 

disposed of under the marketing order. 

Dated: April 3, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6530 Filed 4–6–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 102 

RIN 3245–AF20 

Record Disclosure and Privacy 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

ACTION: Direct Final Rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule updates the U.S. 

Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 

regulations implementing the Privacy 

Act of 1974. This rule ensures the 

security and confidentiality of 

personally identifiable records and 

protects against hazards to their 

integrity. Specifically, Subpart B of the 

Privacy Act regulations is revised to 

include SBA’s procedures for 

maintaining appropriate administrative, 

technical and physical safeguards to 

ensure the security of the records. Also 

included are Privacy Act standards of 

conduct for Agency employees; training 

and reporting requirements pursuant to 

Privacy Act guidelines and the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

guidance; and the Privacy Act 

responsibilities of the Chief, Freedom of 

Information/Privacy Acts (FOI/PA) 

Office. 

DATES: This rule is effective June 8, 2007 

without further action, unless 

significant adverse comment is received 

by May 9, 2007. If significant adverse 

comment is received, the SBA will 

publish a timely withdrawal of the rule 

in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 3245–AF20, by any of 

the following methods: (1) Federal 

rulemaking portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; (2) e-mail: 

lisa.babcock@sba.gov, include RIN 

number 3245–AF20 in the subject line 

of the message; (3) mail to: Delorice P. 

Ford, Agency Chief FOIA Officer, 409 

3rd Street, SW., Mail Code: 2441, 

Washington, DC 20416; and (4) Hand 

Delivery/Courier: 409 3rd Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20416. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Delorice P. Ford, Agency Chief FOIA 

Officer, (202) 401–8203. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SBA is 

revising Subpart B of Part 102 to include 

more in-depth information about 

Privacy Act (PA) responsibilities, and to 

further ensure the security and 

confidentiality of the Agency’s 

personally identifiable records, 

including the standards for disclosure of 

information under computer matching 

programs. This rule will further assist 

the SBA in focusing on the four basic 

policy objectives of the Privacy Act. 

Those objectives are: the restriction of 

disclosure of personally identifiable 

information; individuals’ increased right 

of access to records maintained on 

them; individuals’ right to seek 

amendment of records maintained on 

them; and the establishment of fair 

information practices. SBA is 

substantially revising this rule to 

present it in a statement and narrative 

format rather than question and answer, 

which conforms to the current writing 

style of Subpart A. As a result, the 

headings and section numbers are 

different than current SBA rule 13 CFR 

part 102, Subpart B. 

SBA is publishing this rule as a direct 

final rule because it believes the rule is 

non-controversial since it merely 

enforces the basic policy objectives of 

the Privacy Act and does not present 

novel or unusual policies or practices. 

Because the rule follows routine, 

standard government-wide Privacy Act 

practices, SBA believes that this direct 

final rule will not elicit any significant 

adverse comments. However, if such 

comments are received, SBA will 

publish a timely notice of withdrawal in 

the Federal Register. 

Section-by Section Analysis 

General provisions, § 102.20, provides 

an overview of the scope of regulations 

contained in Subpart B as well as 

definitions for terms that are not 

previously defined in Part 102. 

New § 102.21 Agency officials 

responsible for the Privacy Act, 

describes the various Agency personnel 

responsible for the PA and a listing of 

their duties. Some of this information is 

currently included in SBA PA rules at 

13 CFR 102.29 and 102.32. 

Section 102.22 Requirements relating 

to systems of records, this section 

expands current SBA PA rules at 

§§ 102.24 and 102.25 and establishes 

parameters for the type of information 

that SBA may collect from an 

individual, including the prohibition on 

maintaining records concerning First 

Amendment rights in certain 

circumstances. Section 102.22 also 

addresses how to ensure the accurate 

and secure maintenance of records on 

individuals, and how to report new 

systems of records. 

Section 102.23—Publication in the 

Federal Register Notices of systems of 

records explains that SBA will publish 

notice of new or modified systems of 

records and routine uses in the Federal 

Register. This section is not currently 

included in SBA rules. 

Section 102.24—Requests for access 

to records describes procedures for 

individuals on how and where to make 

requests for access to records under the 

PA. This section is similar to current 

SBA rule at 13 CFR 102.34. 

Section 102.25—Responsibility for 

responding to requests for access to 

records provides a description of 

responsibilities for Agency respondents 

to requests for access to records, while 

§ 102.26—Responses to requests for 

access to record describes what to 

include in those responses. Current SBA 

rule at 13 CFR 102.36 provides similar 

information. 

New § 102.27—Appeals from denials 

of requests for access to records 

provides procedures for individuals on 

how and where to make appeals from 

denials of requests for access to records. 

Section 102.28—Requests for 

amendment or correction of records, 

provides a description of how and 

where to make requests and appeals for 

amendment or correction of records, 

including how to file Statements of 

Disagreement if appeals under this 

section are denied in whole or part. 

Section 102.29—Requests for an 

accounting of record disclosures 

describes procedures for individuals to 

make requests and appeals for an 

accounting of records disclosures. 

Section 102.30—Preservation of 

records this section describes how SBA 

will implement the record retention 

requirements of Title 44 of the United 

States Code or the National Archives 

and Records Administration’s General 

Records Schedule 14. 

Section 102.31—Fees this section 

states that for PA matters, SBA charges 

only for duplication of records and all 

fees under $25 are waived. 

Section 102.32—Notice of courtordered and emergency disclosures this 

section explains SBA’s compliance with 

court-ordered and emergency 

disclosures. SBA will notify individuals 

by mailing a notice to their last known 

address. 

Section 102.33—Security of systems 

of records this section requires SBA 

offices that maintain PA records to 

establish controls to protect records on 

individuals and ensure that record 

access is limited to only those 


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