This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

27918 

Vol. 83, No. 116 

Friday, June 15, 2018 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2016–0099] 

RIN 0579–AE45 

Importation of Fresh Avocado Fruit 

From Continental Ecuador Into the 

Continental United States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the fruits and vegetables regulations to 

allow the importation into the 

continental United States of fresh 

avocado fruit from continental Ecuador. 

As a condition of entry, fresh avocado 

fruit from continental Ecuador would 

have to be produced in accordance with 

a systems approach that would include 

production site registration, field 

sanitation, packinghouse procedures 

designed to exclude the quarantine 

pests, and procedures for packing, 

storing, and shipping the avocado fruit. 

The fruit would also have to be 

imported in commercial consignments, 

with each consignment identified 

throughout its movement from place of 

production to port of entry in the 

continental United States. The systems 

approach for all fresh avocado fruit from 

continental Ecuador, except Hass 

avocados, would also have to include 

production site pest control measures. 

Consignments would have to be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate issued by the national plant 

protection organization of Ecuador 

certifying that the fruit was produced in 

accordance with the systems approach. 

This proposed rule would allow for the 

importation of fresh avocados from 

continental Ecuador into the continental 

United States while continuing to 

provide protection against the 

introduction of quarantine pests. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before August 14, 

2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket

Detail;D=APHIS-2016-0099. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2016–0099, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

APHIS-2016-0099 or in our reading 

room, which is located in room 1141 of 

the USDA South Building, 14th Street 

and Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 799–7039 before 

coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson M.S., Senior 

Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory 

Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 851– 

2352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart-Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–83, referred to below as 

the regulations) prohibit or restrict the 

importation of fruits and vegetables into 

the United States from certain parts of 

the world to prevent the introduction 

and dissemination of plant pests that are 

new to or not widely distributed within 

the United States. 

The national plant protection 

organization (NPPO) of Ecuador has 

requested that the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

amend the regulations to allow fresh 

avocado (Persea americana Miller) from 

continental Ecuador to be imported into 

the continental United States. As part of 

our evaluation of Ecuador’s request, we 

prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) 

and a risk management document 

(RMD). Copies of the PRA and the RMD 

may be obtained from the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT or viewed on the 

Regulations.gov website (see ADDRESSES

above for instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov). 

The PRA, titled ‘‘Importation of Fresh 

Avocado Fruit (Persea americana 

Miller) from Continental Ecuador into 

the Continental United States’’ (July 18, 

2017), evaluates the risks associated 

with the importation of fresh avocado 

fruit into the continental United States 

from continental Ecuador. The RMD 

draws upon the findings of the PRA to 

determine the phytosanitary measures 

necessary to ensure the safe importation 

into the United States of avocado from 

continental Ecuador. 

The PRA identified four pests of 

quarantine significance present in 

continental Ecuador that could follow 

the pathway of consignments of fresh 

avocado imported from continental 

Ecuador into the continental United 

States: 

• The Mediterranean fruit fly 

(Medfly), Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann, 

• The South American fruit fly, 

Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann, 

• The sapote fruit fly, Anastrepha 

serpentina Wiedemann, and 

• The guava fruit fly, Anastrepha 

striata Schiner. 

A quarantine pest is defined in 

§ 319.56–2 as a pest of potential 

economic importance to the area 

endangered thereby and not yet present 

there, or present but not widely 

distributed and being officially 

controlled. Plant pest risk potentials 

associated with the importation of fresh 

avocado from continental Ecuador into 

the continental United States were 

derived by estimating the consequences 

and likelihood of introduction of each 

quarantine pest into the United States 

and ranking the risk potential as High, 

Medium, or Low. The PRA determined 

that these four quarantine pests pose a 

medium risk of following the pathway 

of fresh avocado from continental 

Ecuador into the continental United 

States and having negative effects on 

U.S. agriculture. 

Based on the conclusions of the PRA, 

we have determined that Hass avocados 

are not hosts of the fruit flies present in 

Ecuador, while other varieties of 

avocado are considered to be poor hosts 

to fruit flies. Therefore, based on the 

conclusions of the PRA and RMD, we 

are proposing to allow the importation 

from continental Ecuador of avocados 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2018 / Proposed Rules 27919 

subject to a systems approach. Under a 

systems approach, a set of phytosanitary 

conditions, at least two of which have 

an independent effect in mitigating the 

pest risk associated with the movement 

of commodities, is specified, whereby 

fruits and vegetables may be imported 

into the United States from countries 

that are not free of certain plant pests. 

For Hass avocados from continental 

Ecuador, the systems approach would 

be the same as for other varieties of 

avocado except that fruit fly trapping 

and treatment would not be required. 

We are proposing to add the systems 

approach for avocado from continental 

Ecuador to the regulations in a new 

§ 319.56–84. The specific mitigation 

measures required in the systems 

approach for each quarantine pest are 

discussed below, as well as in the risk 

management document. 

General Requirements 

Proposed paragraph (a) of § 319.56–84 

would require the NPPO of Ecuador to 

provide an operational workplan to 

APHIS that details the activities that the 

NPPO would, subject to APHIS’ 

approval of the workplan, carry out to 

meet the requirements of proposed 

§ 319.56–84. The operational workplan 

would have to include and describe in 

detail the quarantine pest survey 

intervals and other specific 

requirements in proposed § 319.56–84. 

An operational workplan is an 

agreement between APHIS’ Plant 

Protection and Quarantine program, 

officials of the NPPO of a foreign 

government, and, when necessary, 

foreign commercial entities, that 

specifies in detail the phytosanitary 

measures that will be carried out to 

comply with our regulations governing 

the importation of a specific 

commodity. Operational workplans 

apply only to the signatory parties and 

establish detailed procedures and 

guidance for the day-to-day operations 

of specific import/export programs. 

Operational workplans also establish 

how specific phytosanitary issues are 

dealt with in the exporting country and 

make clear who is responsible for 

dealing with those issues. The 

implementation of a systems approach 

typically requires an operational 

workplan to be developed. 

Proposed paragraph (b) of § 319.56–84 

would require avocado from continental 

Ecuador to be imported only in 

commercial consignments. Produce 

grown commercially is less likely to be 

infested with plant pests than 

noncommercial consignments. 

Noncommercial consignments are more 

prone to infestations because the 

commodity is often ripe to overripe, 

could be of a variety with unknown 

susceptibility to pests, and is often 

grown with little or no pest control. 

Commercial consignments, as defined in 

§ 319.56–2, are consignments that an 

inspector identifies as having been 

imported for sale and distribution. Such 

identification is based on a variety of 

indicators, including, but not limited to: 

Quantity of produce, type of packing, 

identification of grower or packinghouse 

on the packaging, and documents 

consigning the fruits or vegetables to a 

wholesaler or retailer. 

Production Site Requirements 

Paragraph (c)(1) of proposed § 319.56– 

84 would require that all production 

sites participating in the avocado export 

program be approved by and registered 

with the NPPO of Ecuador in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

operational workplan. 

Paragraph (c)(2) of proposed § 319.56– 

84 would require the NPPO of Ecuador 

to visit and inspect the production sites 

monthly starting 2 months before 

harvest and continue until the end of 

the shipping season. APHIS may also 

monitor the places of production if 

necessary. If APHIS or the NPPO of 

Ecuador finds that a place of production 

is not complying with the requirements 

of the systems approach, no fruit from 

the place of production will be eligible 

for export to the United States until 

APHIS and the NPPO of Ecuador 

conduct an investigation and 

appropriate remedial actions have been 

implemented. 

Paragraph (c)(3) would require that 

any fallen avocado fruit be removed 

from the production site at least once 

every 7 days, starting 2 months before 

harvest and continuing through the end 

of the harvest, and that fallen fruit may 

not be included in field containers of 

fruit to be packed for export. Fallen fruit 

is more susceptible to infestation by 

pests because it may be overripe or 

damaged. 

Paragraph (c)(4) would require that, 

for production sites that produce nonHass variety avocados, no other host of 

Medfly or Anastrepha spp. can be 

grown within 100 meters of the edge of 

the place of production. 

Paragraph (c)(5) would require the 

NPPO of Ecuador conduct a fruit fly 

trapping program beginning at least 2 

months before the beginning of harvest 

and continuing for the duration of the 

harvest period for the detection of 

Medfly and Anastrepha spp. at each 

production site that produces non-Hass 

variety avocados. This program would 

support efforts for pest-free production 

sites within a certified low pest 

prevalence area for fruit flies. Details of 

the trapping program would be 

specified in the operational workplan. 

Paragraph (c)(6) would require that 

the NPPO of Ecuador maintain records 

of fruit fly detections for each trap in a 

non-Hass avocado production site and 

update the records each time the traps 

are checked. The trapping records 

would have to be maintained for at least 

1 year and made available for APHIS’ 

review upon request. 

Paragraph (c)(7) would state that, if 

the number of flies per trap per day 

exceeds levels specified in the 

operational workplan for more than 2 

consecutive weeks, the place of 

production would be prohibited from 

exporting avocados to the continental 

United States until APHIS and the 

NPPO of Ecuador jointly agree that the 

risk has been mitigated. 

Paragraph (c)(8) would require that all 

harvested avocados be placed in field 

cartons or containers that are marked to 

identify the production site from which 

the consignment of fruit originated. 

Production site registration and 

container marking would facilitate 

traceback of a consignment of avocado 

fruit to the production site in which it 

was grown in the event that quarantine 

pests were discovered in the 

consignment at the port of first arrival 

into the United States. The fruit would 

have to be moved to the packinghouse 

within 3 hours of harvest or it must be 

protected from fruit fly infestation until 

moved. 

Packinghouse Requirements 

We are proposing several 

requirements for packinghouse 

activities, which would be contained in 

paragraph (d) of proposed § 319.56–84. 

Paragraph (d)(1) would require that all 

avocados be packed for export to the 

United States in pest-exclusionary 

packinghouses approved by and 

registered with the NPPO of Ecuador in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

operational workplan. 

Paragraph (d)(2) would provide that 

consignments of avocados destined for 

export to the continental United States 

must be packed within 24 hours of 

harvest and safeguarded during 

movement from registered 

packinghouses to arrival at the port of 

entry into the continental United States 

as specified by the operational 

workplan. Such safeguarding could 

include the use of pest-proof screens or 

tarpaulins to cover the lots during 

transit, or other similar measures 

approved by APHIS and the NPPO of 

Ecuador. We would require these 

safeguards to remain intact until the 

consignment’s arrival in the continental 

United States or the consignment would 


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be denied entry into the continental 

United States. 

Paragraph (d)(3) would require that all 

openings to the outside of the 

packinghouse must be covered by 

screening with openings of not more 

than 1.6 mm or by some other barrier 

that prevents pests from entering. The 

packinghouse would have to have 

double doors at the entrance to the 

facility and at the interior entrance to 

the area where the avocados are packed. 

Paragraph (d)(4) would require that, 

while in use for exporting avocado fruit 

to the continental United States, the 

packinghouses may only accept 

avocados from registered a pproved 

production sites and the fruit must be 

segregated from fruit intended for other 

markets. This requirement would 

prevent such avocados intended for 

export to the continental United States 

from being exposed to or otherwise 

mixed with avocados that are not 

produced according to the requirements 

of the systems approach. Avocados from 

other places of production may be 

produced under conditions that are less 

stringent than those of this proposed 

rule, and may therefore be a pathway for 

introduction of quarantine pests into the 

packinghouses. 

Paragraph (d)(5) would require that 

the identity and origin of the fruit be 

maintained from the packinghouse 

through export of consignments to the 

United States. This requirement would 

ensure that APHIS and the NPPO of 

Ecuador could identify the 

packinghouse at which the fruit was 

packed if inspectors find quarantine 

pests in the fruit either before export or 

at the port of entry. 

Treatment 

Paragraph (e) would state that, if nonHass variety avocados are ineligible for 

export under the systems approach due 

to the place of production exceeding the 

trapping threshold for fruit flies as 

established in the operational workplan, 

they may still be exported, but only after 

undergoing an APHIS approved 

treatment in accordance with 7 CFR part 

305. 

Currently, irradiation treatment under 

treatment schedule T105-a-1 is the only 

treatment approved for all fruit flies and 

may be used to export non-Hass 

avocados from Ecuador. Under this 

treatment, the fruit must be irradiated 

with a minimum absorbed dose of 150 

Gy to be applied upon arrival in the 

United States and follow the 

requirements of 7 CFR part 305. In the 

future, when irradiation facilities 

become available in Ecuador, irradiation 

may be applied in Ecuador as long as 

the treatment follows all requirements 

of 7 CFR part 305. 

Phytosanitary Inspection 

Paragraph (f)(1) would require that a 

biometric sample of avocados, jointly 

agreed upon by APHIS and the NPPO of 

Ecuador, be inspected in Ecuador by the 

NPPO following post-harvest 

processing. The sample would have to 

be visually inspected for all quarantine 

pests and a portion of the fruit would be 

cut open, if the fruit shows signs of 

internal pests. If any quarantine pests 

are found, the entire consignment of 

avocados would be prohibited from 

import into the continental United 

States unless treated using an APHISapproved treatment in accordance with 

7 CFR part 305. 

Paragraph (f)(2) would require that 

fruit presented for inspection at a U.S. 

port of entry be identified in the 

shipping documents accompanying 

each consignment of fruit that specify 

the place of production in which the 

fruit was produced and the 

packinghouse in which the fruit was 

processed. This identification would 

have to be maintained with the 

consignment until the fruit is released 

for entry into the continental United 

States. 

Phytosanitary Certificate 

Paragraph (g) would require that each 

consignment of avocado fruit be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate issued by the NPPO of 

Ecuador that states that the avocados in 

the consignment have been produced in 

accordance with the requirements of 

§§ 319.56–84. 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13771 and 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, 

therefore, has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

Further, because this rule is not 

significant, it is not a regulatory action 

under Executive Order 13771. 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, we have analyzed the 

potential economic effects of this action 

on small entities. The analysis is 

summarized below. Copies of the full 

analysis are available by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT or on the 

Regulations.gov website (see ADDRESSES

above for instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov). 

APHIS is proposing to allow the 

importation of fresh avocados from 

continental Ecuador into the continental 

United States under certain pest 

mitigation measures. This would be the 

first opportunity Ecuador has had to 

export fresh avocados to the United 

States. Over the 6-year period 2010– 

2015, Ecuador’s avocado exports 

declined precipitously, from over 8,000 

metric tons (MT) in 2010 to about 1,000 

MT in 2015. Over these 6 years, 

Ecuador’s avocado exports averaged 

4,884 MT per year, reportedly valued at 

about $310,000 for an average price of 

less than $0.07 per kilogram or $63.50 

per MT. This price is inexplicably low 

and may well indicate data error. 

The United States is a net importer of 

avocados. Over the same 6-year period, 

2010–2015, annual U.S. avocado 

imports averaged more than 570,000 

MT, valued at $1.1 billion. Mexico is the 

principal source, accounting for 86 

percent of U.S. avocado imports. 

If between 5 percent and 20 percent 

of Ecuador’s average fresh avocado 

exports to the world, 2010–2015, that is, 

between 244 and 976 MT, were 

imported by the United States, we 

estimate that U.S. producer welfare 

would fall by between $95,000 and 

$383,000, consumer welfare would rise 

by between $428,000 to $1.72 million, 

for a net social welfare gain of between 

$332,000 and $1.33 million. At the 

midpoint of this range, the net social 

gain would be $833,000. In accordance 

with guidance on complying with 

Executive Order 13771, the primary 

estimate of the cost savings of this 

proposed rule is $833,000, the midpoint estimate of cost savings 

annualized in perpetuity using a 7 

percent discount rate. 

While most U.S. avocado farms are 

small entities, they would not be 

significantly affected by this proposed 

rule. Annual avocado imports by the 

United States from Ecuador of between 

244 and 976 MT would be equivalent to 

between 0.04 and 0.17 percent of the 

quantity of avocados imported by the 

United States annually. 

Under these circumstances, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 

determined that this action would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule would allow fresh 

avocado to be imported into the 

continental United States from 

continental Ecuador, subject to a 

systems approach. If this proposed rule 

is adopted, State and local laws and 

regulations regarding fresh avocado 

imported under this rule would be 

preempted while the fruit is in foreign 

commerce. Fresh avocados are generally 

imported for immediate distribution and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2018 / Proposed Rules 27921 

sale to the consuming public and would 

remain in foreign commerce until sold 

to the ultimate consumer. The question 

of when foreign commerce ceases in 

other cases must be addressed on a caseby-case basis. If this proposed rule is 

adopted, no retroactive effect will be 

given to this rule, and this rule will not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with section 3507(d) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements included in 

this proposed rule have been submitted 

for approval to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). Please 

send comments on the Information 

Collection Request (ICR) to OMB’s 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs via email to oira_submissions@

omb.eop.gov, Attention: Desk Officer for 

APHIS, Washington, DC 20503. Please 

state that your comments refer to Docket 

No. APHIS–2016–0099. Please send a 

copy of your comments to the USDA 

using one of the methods described 

under ADDRESSES at the beginning of 

this document. 

APHIS is proposing to amend the fruit 

and vegetable regulations to allow the 

importation of avocados from 

continental Ecuador into the continental 

United States. As a condition of entry, 

the avocados would have to be 

produced in accordance with a systems 

approach that would include 

requirements for importation in 

commercial consignments, registration 

and monitoring of places of production, 

field monitoring and pest-control 

practices, trapping, and inspection for 

quarantine pests by the NPPO of 

Ecuador. 

Implementing this rule will require 

information collection activities such as 

an operational workplan, production 

site and packinghouse registrations, 

marking of fruit cartons, phytosanitary 

inspections and certificates, notices of 

suspension to export, notices of 

resumption to export, preclearance 

inspection documentation, import 

permit applications, notices of arrival, 

emergency action notifications, and 

creation and maintenance records. 

We are soliciting comments from the 

public (as well as affected agencies) 

concerning our proposed information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements. These comments will 

help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper performance of our agency’s 

functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

information collection, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

information collection on those who are 

to respond (such as through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology; e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses). 

Estimate of burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 0.012 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: NPPO of Ecuador, 

production site and packinghouse 

managers, and importers of avocados 

from Ecuador. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 44. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 1,154. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 50,791. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 623 hours. (Due to 

averaging, the total annual burden hours 

may not equal the product of the annual 

number of responses multiplied by the 

reporting burden per response.) 

A copy of the information collection 

may be viewed on the Regulations.gov 

website or in our reading room. (A link 

to Regulations.gov and information on 

the location and hours of the reading 

room are provided under the heading 

ADDRESSES at the beginning of this 

proposed rule.) Copies can also be 

obtained from Ms. Kimberly Hardy, 

APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2483. APHIS 

will respond to any ICR-related 

comments in the final rule. All 

comments will also become a matter of 

public record. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance 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. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this proposed rule, please contact Ms. 

Kimberly Hardy, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851– 

2483. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, 

Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Vegetables. 

Accordingly, we propose to amend 7 

CFR part 319 as follows: 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450 and 7701–7772, 

and 7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 

CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

■ 2. Section 319.56–84 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–84 Fresh avocado fruit from 

continental Ecuador. 

Fresh avocados (Persea americana 

Miller), may be imported into the 

continental United States from 

continental Ecuador only under the 

conditions described in this section. 

These conditions are designed to 

prevent the introduction of the 

following quarantine pests: Anastrepha 

fraterculus Wiedemann, Anastrepha 

serpentina Wiedemann, Anastrepha 

striata Schiner, and Ceratitis capitata 

Wiedemann. 

(a) Operational workplan. The 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of Ecuador must provide an 

operational workplan to APHIS that 

details the activities that the NPPO of 

Ecuador will, subject to APHIS’ 

approval of the workplan, carry out to 

meet the requirements of this section. 

The operational workplan must include 

and describe the quarantine pest survey 

intervals and other specific 

requirements as set forth in this section. 

(b) Commercial consignments. 

Avocados from continental Ecuador 

may be imported in commercial 

consignments only. 

(c)(1) Production site requirements. 

All production sites that participate in 

the export program must be approved by 

and registered with the NPPO of 

Ecuador in accordance with the 

requirements of the operational 

workplan. 

(2) The NPPO of Ecuador will visit 

and inspect the production sites 

monthly starting 2 months before 

harvest and continue until the end of 

the shipping season. APHIS may also 

monitor the places of production if 

necessary. If APHIS or the NPPO of 

Ecuador finds that a place of production 

is not complying with the requirements 

of this section, no fruit from the place 

of production will be eligible for export 


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27922 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 116 / Friday, June 15, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

to the United States until APHIS and the 

NPPO of Ecuador conduct an 

investigation and appropriate remedial 

actions have been implemented. 

(3) Fallen avocado fruit must be 

removed from the production site at 

least once every 7 days, starting 2 

months before harvest and continuing 

through the end of the harvest, and 

fallen fruit may not be included in field 

containers of fruit to be packed for 

export. 

(4) At each non-Hass avocado 

production site, no other host of A. 

fraterculus, A. serpentina, A. striata, or 

C. capitata can be grown within 100 

meters of the edge of the place of 

production. 

(5) At each non-Hass avocado 

production site, the NPPO of Ecuador 

must conduct a fruit fly trapping 

program beginning at least 2 months 

before the beginning of harvest and 

continuing for the duration of the 

harvest period for the detection of A. 

fraterculus, A. serpentina, A. striata, 

and C. capitata in accordance with the 

operational workplan. 

(6) The NPPO of Ecuador must 

maintain records of fruit fly detections 

for each trap in a non-Hass avocado 

production site and update the records 

each time the traps are checked. The 

trapping records must be maintained for 

at least 1 year and provided for APHIS’ 

review, if requested. 

(7) If the number of flies per trap per 

day exceeds levels specified in the 

operational workplan for more than 2 

consecutive weeks, the place of 

production will be prohibited from 

exporting avocados to the continental 

United States until APHIS and the 

NPPO of Ecuador jointly agree that the 

risk has been mitigated. 

(8) All avocados must be placed in 

field cartons or containers that are 

marked to identify the production site 

from which the consignment of fruit 

originated. The fruit must either be 

moved to the packinghouse within 3 

hours of harvest or protected from fruit 

fly infestation until moved. 

(d)(1) Packinghouse requirements. 

Avocados must be packed for export to 

the continental United States in pestexclusionary packinghouses that are 

approved by and registered with the 

NPPO of Ecuador in accordance with 

the requirements of the operational 

workplan. 

(2) The avocados must be packed 

within 24 hours of harvest in a pestexclusionary packinghouse in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

operational workplan. The avocados 

must be safeguarded by an insect-proof 

mesh screen or plastic tarpaulin while 

in transit to the packinghouse and while 

awaiting packing. The avocados must be 

packed in insect-proof cartons or 

containers, or covered with insect-proof 

mesh or plastic tarpaulin, for transit into 

the continental United States. These 

safeguards must remain intact until 

arrival at the port of entry into the 

continental United States or the 

consignment will be denied entry into 

the continental United States. 

(3) All openings to the outside of the 

packinghouse must be covered by 

screening with openings of not more 

than 1.6 mm or by some other barrier 

that prevents pests from entering. The 

packinghouse must have double doors 

at the entrance to the facility and at the 

interior entrance to the area where the 

avocados are packed. 

(4) During the time the packinghouse 

is in use for exporting avocados to the 

continental United States, the 

packinghouse may only accept avocados 

from registered approved production 

sites and the fruit must be segregated 

from fruit intended for other markets. 

(5) The identity and origin of the fruit 

must be maintained from the 

packinghouse through export of 

consignments to the United States. 

(e) Treatment. If the non-Hass variety 

avocados are ineligible for export under 

the systems approach due to the place 

of production exceeding the trapping 

threshold for fruit flies as established in 

the operational workplan, they may still 

be exported, but only after undergoing 

an APHIS approved treatment in 

accordance with part 305 of this 

chapter. 

(f) Phytosanitary inspection. (1) 

Inspectors from the NPPO of Ecuador 

must inspect a biometric sample of the 

fruit from each avocado consignment 

jointly agreed upon by APHIS and the 

NPPO of Ecuador, following postharvest processing. The inspectors must 

visually inspect for quarantine pests 

listed in the operational workplan 

required by paragraph (a) of this section 

and must cut fruit if signs of quarantine 

pests that are internal feeders are 

observed. If quarantine pests are 

detected in this inspection, the 

consignment will be prohibited entry 

into the United States unless it is treated 

with an APHIS-approved quarantine 

treatment in accordance with part 305 of 

this chapter. 

(2) Fruit presented for inspection at a 

U.S. port of entry must be identified in 

the shipping documents accompanying 

each consignment of fruit that specify 

the place of production in which the 

fruit was produced and the 

packinghouse in which the fruit was 

processed. This identification must be 

maintained until the fruit is released for 

entry into the continental United States. 

(g) Phytosanitary certificate. Each 

consignment of avocado fruit must be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate of inspection issued by the 

NPPO of Ecuador that states that the 

fruit in the consignment was produced 

in accordance with the requirements of 

§ 319.56–84. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of 

June 2018. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–12827 Filed 6–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 612 

RIN 3052–AC44 

Standards of Conduct and Referral of 

Known or Suspected Criminal 

Violations; Standards of Conduct 

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Farm Credit 

Administration (FCA, we, or our) 

proposes to amend our regulations 

governing standards of conduct of 

directors and employees of Farm Credit 

System (FCS or System) institutions, 

excluding the Federal Agricultural 

Mortgage Corporation. The proposed 

rule would replace the original 

proposed rule, and would require every 

System institution to have or develop a 

Standards of Conduct Program based on 

core principles to put into effect ethical 

values as part of corporate culture. 

DATES: You may send comments on or 

before September 13, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: We offer a variety of 

methods for you to submit your 

comments. For accuracy and efficiency 

reasons, commenters are encouraged to 

submit comments by email or through 

FCA’s website. As facsimiles (fax) are 

difficult for us to process and achieve 

compliance with section 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act, we are no longer 

accepting comments submitted by fax. 

Regardless of the method you use, 

please do not submit your comment 

multiple times via different methods. 

You may submit comments by any of 

the following methods: 

• Email: Send us an email at regcomm@fca.gov. 

• FCA Website: http://www.fca.gov. 

Select ‘‘Public Commenters,’’ then 

‘‘Public Comments’’ and follow the 

directions for ‘‘Submitting a Comment.’’ 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS