### United States

Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service M ay 2012 **Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis**

**Final Rule**  **APHIS -**  **2011 -**  **0007 RIN 0579**  **- AD42**  **Importation of Sand Pear from China**

Policy & Program Development Policy Analysis & Developmenti



### Summary This rule will amend the regulations to allow, under certain conditions, the importation into the United States of sand pear ( Pyrus p yrifolia ) from China . This fruit is produced in the United States in limited quantities, primarily in Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. Farms producing pears are classified within the North American Industry Classification Sy stem under Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming

. The average 2007 market value of crops sold by farms classified within the industry Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (which includes Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming) was less than $188,000, an amount well below the Small Business Administration’s small

- entity standard of annual receipts of not more than $750,000. We infer that the majority

of farms producing pears, including sand pears, are small entities. China is expecting to export 24,000 metric tons of sand pear annuall y to the United States. This amount is less than 5 percent of average annual production of all varieties of pear produced in the United States. We do not know the quantity or value of sand pear produced in the United States, or the quantity or value of sand pear imported from other c ountries. Nor do we know the substitutability of sand pear for other ty

pes of pears produced domestically

. While the United States is a net exporter of pears overall, it is likely that the U.S. supply

of sand pear is largel y imported. Without informatio n on the domestic and foreign quantities supplied and the substitutability

of sand pear for other pear varieties, we are unable to evaluate potential effects of the rule for U.S. producers.ii



### Table of Contents Summary

................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. i Introduction

................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 1 U.S. Pear Produc tion and Trade

................................ ................................ .......................... 2 Need for and Objectives of the Rule

................................ ................................ ................... 5 Significant Issues raised by Public Comment in response to the Initial Regulatory Flexibility

Anal ys is

................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 5 Comments filed by

the Small Business Administration in response to the Proposed Rule 5 Potentially Affected Small Entities

................................ ................................ ..................... 6 Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements

..................... 8 Steps taken by

APHI S to minimize Significant Economic Impacts on Small Entities

...... 8 References

................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 91



### Introduction 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. This final regulatory flexibility

analysis is provided as r equired by s ection 60 4 of the Act. APHI S received a request from the n ational p lant p rotection o rganization of China to allow the importation of commercial shipments of the sand pear, Pyrus p yrifolia , from China (including from the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau) into the United States. A sy stems approach will be used to mitigate the risks posed b y certain plant pests. U.S. demand for new fruits such as the sand pear is expanding due to the increasing popularity of exotic foods and a growing interest in healthier diets. The sand pear is a good source of iron, potassium , vitamin C , and phospho rous . 1 The sand pear is produced in the United States in limited quantities, primarily in the States of Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. However, published information on the quantity

or value of domestic commercial production of the sand pear is not available. China expects to export 24,000 metric tons of sand pear to the United States, but we do not know the quantity or value of sand pear imported from other countries. Nor do we know the substitutability

of sand pear for other type s of pears produced domestically. La ck of production and trade data specific to the sand pear prevents an informed examination of expected market effects of the rule. However, as context, we provide information on U.S. pear production and trade generall y .

1 Pears
- Pyrus communis, Pyrus pyrifolia

. http://www.fruit

- crops.com/pear.html#production2



### U.S. Pear Production and Trade
U.S. pear production levels and farm value s for the four seasons , 200 6/07 through 200 9 /10 , are shown in t able 1
. Average annual production for this period was slightl y more than 500,000 metric tons, valued at $283 millio n. Table 1
. U.S. utilized pear production and wholesale value, 200 6/07

- 2009 /10

Source s : Quantities p roduc ed as reported in USDA ERS , Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook, FTS

- 349, Sept. 30, 2011, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fts/2011/09Sep/FTS349.pdf ; value s based on monthly grower prices, Fruit and Tree Nuts Situation and Outlook Report, Table B

- 29, http://ers.usda .gov/publications/fts/Yearbook10/FTS2010.pdf Note: Season begins in August. Data on the quantity of pear s produced by each State are not available, but as shown in table 2, approximately

one - third of the se farms in 2007 were located in Washington, Oregon , and California . Farms in these three States comprised nearl y 90 percent of the total U.S. acreage devoted to pear production. Table 2
. Number of commercial pear farms and acreages, b y State, 2007 Number of Pear Farms Percentage

Share of U.S. Farms Acres in Pear

Production Percentage

Share of U.S. Acreage Washington 1,530 15.5 25,514 37.4 Oregon 888 9.0 18,416 27.0 California 739 7.5 15,859 23.2 Pennsylvania 647 6.5 1,041 1.5 Texas 548 5.5 545 0.8 All Other States 5 , 526 56.0 6,841 10.0 United States 9 , 878 100 68,216 100 Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture, Table 3 2 , Fruits and Nuts

.

Season Utilized

Production (metric tons) Value

(million dollars) 2006/07 454,232 2 66
. 7 2007/08 500,726 2 91.8 2008/09 498,004 297.2 2009/10 547,764 27 3.7 Average 500,181 283.43

Trade data solel y for pears are not available; pears are grouped with quinces. Table 3 shows the combined quantity of pears (all types) and quinces imported, 2006

- 2010
. The United States receives the largest share of these fruits from Argentina

– 44 percent of imports in 2010. As shown, 8 percent of pear and quince imports in 2010 came from China.
Table 3 . Quantity of U.S. pears and quinces imports, 2006

- 20 10 , metric tons

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Global Trade Information Services, Inc. Table 4 shows the value of U.S. pear and quince imports , 2006

- 2010, and the 2010 composite price. The average value of pear and quince imports over the five ye ars was approximately

$101 million, with the largest single share of this amount, over $41 million, for fruit imported from Argentina. Source Quantity Percent Share 20 1 0 200 6 200 7 200 8 200 9 20 10 World 89,586 107,695 86,217 82,095 62,042 100.0 Argentina 43,693 52,357 37,014 38,460 27,039 44 Chile 25,266 24,598 25,438 18,980 17,226 28 Korea South 7,821 15,057 8,904 10,286 9,671 16 China 8,952 8,841 11,954 11,013 5,252 8 New Zealand 2,806 5,636 2,005 2,490 2,048 3 South Africa 757 866 420 696 591 1 Canada 6 63 212 50 146 0 Japan 286 276 202 118 69 0 Brazil

- - 69

- - 0 Mexico

- - - 1

- 04

Table 4
. Value of U.S. pear and quince imports, 2006

- 2010, million dollars

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Global Trade Information Services, Inc. In contrast, the quantities of pear and quince exported by the United States totaled about 152,000 MT in 2010 (more than twice the amount imported), and was valued at $155 million (table 5). The majority

of exports in 2010 and in previous years were shipped to Canada and Mexico.
Table 5
. Quantity and value of U.S. pear and quince exports, 2008

- 2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Global Trade Information Services, Inc. Source Value 2010 Unit Value 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Percent Share 2010 Dollars per

Metric Ton World 102.2 125.4 96.8 98.6 83.2 100.00 1,340 Argentina 47.0 54.0 36.2 38.1 32.5 39.04 1,201 Chile 19.7 19.9 21.7 23.4 23.5 28.27 1,365 Korea South 21.5 23.9 22.2 19.0 14.7 17.63 1,516 China 8.3 18.2 12.3 10.1 6.2 7.41 1,174 New Zealand 3.4 7.0 2.6 6.1 4.7 5.62 2,283 South Africa 1.1 1.1 0.8 1.6 1.2 1.41 1,987 Canada 1.4 1.2 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.49 2,803 Japan 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.12 1,395

Quantity 20 10 Value 20 10 Unit Value 2008 2009 2010 Percent Share 2010 Million

Dollars Percent

Share Dollars per

Metric Ton World 158,802 156,951 152,163 100 155.2 100. 1,020 Canada 39,757 38,922 42,399 28 49.6 32 1,170 Mexico 73,592 60,250 52,154 34 43.1 28 826 Russia 6,602 10,254 11,720 8 12.2 8 1,039 Brazil 7,466 11,039 8,006 5 9.7 6 1,212 All Other Countries 31,385 36,486 37,883 25 40.7 26 1,0735

While the United States is a net exporter of pears overall, it is likely that the U.S. supply of sand pear is largel y imported. Without information on the domestic and foreign quantities supplied and the substitutability of sand pear for other pear varieties, we are unable to evaluate potential effects of the rule for U.S. producers. 

### Need for and Objectives of the Rule
This rule is in response to a request made b y the n ational p lant p rotection o rganization of China for APHI S to amend the regulations to allow for the commercial shipment into the United States of the sand pear, Pyrus p yrifolia . A s ys tems approach will be used to mitigate the risks posed by certain plant pests. The objective of the rule is to allow sand pear to be imported into the United States from China (including from the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau)

. This rule is part of a continuing program to allow the importation of foreign agricultural products that APHI S has determined are without significant risk of introducing pests or diseases into the United States. 

### Significant Issues **raised by**  **Public Comment in response to**  **the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis** There were no significant issues raised b y public comment in response to the initial regulatory

flexibility

analysis. 

### Comments filed **by the Small Business Administration in response to the**  **Proposed Rule** There were no comments filed by the Small Business Administration in response to the proposed rule.6



### Potentially **Affected Small Entities**  Farms producing pears are classified within the North American Industry Classification Sy stem under Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming (NAICS 111 339). For this industry classification,
a business is considered to be a small entity if it s annual receipts are not more than $750,000. 2 The average 2007 market value of crops sold by farms classified within Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (which includes Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming) was less than $188,000. 3 We infer that the majority

of farms p roducing pears, both sand pear and other types, are small entities. The 2007 Census of Agriculture also contains data on certain sub

- categories of fruit and tree nut farming operations , namely , small family farms and farms having operators who belong to socially

disadvantaged groups. 4 S mall family farm s have gross farm cash income of less than $ 250 ,000
. Categories of socially disadvantaged groups are women , persons of Hispanic origin , American Indian or Alaska Native , Asian , African American , and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific. As shown in t able 6, 84 percent of fruit and tree nut farms in 2007 were small family farms. We note that residential/lifestyle farms comprised 40 percent of small family fruit and tree nut farms. For about 30 percent of the small family fruit and tree nut farms, the operators reported that they

were retired.

2 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 3 2007 Census of Agriculture , Table 62
. Selected Characteristics of Farms by North American Industry Classification System: 2007 , http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/usv1.pdf 4 For definitions and information, see : USDA ERS. Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 20 10 edition , EIB

- 66, July 2010

. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB66/EIB66.pdf7

Table 6
. P ercentage of fruit and tree nut farms that are small famil y farms, 2007

Limited Resource Farms Small Family Farms Limited Resource Farms plus Small Family Farms All Farms Retirement Farms Residential/

lifestyle Farms Farming

occupation/ Lo wer Sales Farming

occupation/ Higher Sales Number of fruit and tree nut farming farms 10,705 24,019 33,212 11,034 3,527 82,497 98,281 Percentage of s mall f amily f arms 13 29 40 13 4 100 n/a Percentage of total f arms 11 24 34 11 4 84 100 Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture. Note: A l imited resource farm is a small family farm that has gross sales of less than $100,000 (indexed after 2003), and a household income less than the poverty level for a family of four with two children or less than half the county median income. A retirement farm is a small family farm whose operators report they are retired (excludes limited resource farms operated by retired farmers). A r esidential/lifestyle farm is a small family farm whose operators report a major occupation other than farming (excludes limited resource farms whose operators report a major occupation other than farming ). A f arming occupation/lower

- sales farm is a small family farm with sales less than $100,000 w

hose operators report farming as their major occupation (excludes limited resource farms whose operators report farming as their major occupation). A f arming occu

pation/higher

- sales farm is a small family farm with sales between $100,000 and $249,000 w hose operators report farming as their major occupation.

Table 7 shows the number and percentage of fruit and tree nut farms that had operators belonging to social ly

disadvantaged groups in 2007. Fourteen percent of fruit and tree nut farms had a woman as the principal operator. Sixteen percent of fruit and tree nut farms had one or more operators who belonged to a racially or ethnically disadvantaged group. Fifty- seven percent of the farms having one or more operators who belonged to a racially or ethnically disadvantaged group had an operator who was of Spanish, Hispanic, or Latin origin.8

Table 7
. P ercentage of fruit and tree nut farm s for which one or more operators belong 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 All Farms

with one or mo re operators belonging to a racially or ethnically disadvantaged group All Farms

Number of f arms with fruit and tree nut farming 13,876 8,871 1,304 4,163 836 335 15,509 98,281 Percentage of special operators 89 57 8 27 5 2 100 n/a Percentage of total f arms 14 9 1 4 <1 <1 16 100 Source: USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture. 

### Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and **Other Compliance**  **Requirement s**  Reporting and recordkeeping requirements associated with the rule are discussed in the rule under the heading "Paperwork Reduction Act." There will be no compliance costs specific to this rule for U.S. small entities. 

### Steps taken by APHIS to minimize Sign **ificant Economic Impact**  **s on Small Entities**  We have insufficient information for evaluating the expected effects of this rule for small entities. Inthe absence of evidence of possible significant economic impacts, we have not identified alternatives that would minimize such impacts.9



### References Census of Agriculture, 2007, http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/index.asp Pears
- P yrus communis, P

yrus pyrifolia. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.fruit

crops.com/pear.html#production U.S. Census Bureau, as reported b y Global Trade Information Services, Inc. , http://www.gtis.com/gta/default.cfm 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