### United States

Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service May 2012 Analysis in Support of Certification that the

Rule will not have a Significant Economic Impact on a Substantial Number of Small Entities
Proposed Rule APHIS 2012 - 0042 RIN 0579 - [ AD69 ] Importation of Fresh Beans ( Phaseolus v ulgaris L ) , Shelled or in Pods, from Jordan

Policy & Program Development Policy Analysis & Developmenti



### Summary
This analysis examines the expected economic impact for U.S. small entities of a proposed rule that would allow importation of fresh beans ( Phaseolus v ulgaris L ), shelled or in pods (French beans, green beans, snap beans, and string beans) , from Jordan into the c ontinental
Un ited S tates. This proposed rule would allow importation of only fresh P. vulgaris from
Jordan.
The Small Business Administration’s small

- entity standard for U.S. farms that produce fresh beans is annual receipts of not more than $750,000. In 2007, the average market value of sales by the 15,654 U.S. farms that produced snap beans for the fresh market was about $25,400,
well below the small

- entity standard. Jordan expects to export 200 metric tons of fresh bean s to the c ontinental United States annually. Th is quantity is equivalent to less than one
- tenth of one percent of U.S fresh snap bean production. While most entities that may be affected by the proposed rule are small, the impact
of the rule would be minor. The proposed rule, if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.1



### Introduction
This analysis provides the basis, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, for certification by the APHIS Administrator that the proposed rule , if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
APH IS received a request from the Kingdom of Jordan to authorize the importation of
fresh b eans ( Phaseolus v ulgaris L ), shelled or in pods (French beans, green beans, snap beans, and string beans) , from Jordan into the continental United States. Th e proposed rule would allow importation of only fresh P. vulgaris from Jordan

. In this analysis, w e use the common name ‘snap bean’ when referring to fresh P . v ulgaris

. In response to Jordan’s request, APHIS produced a pest risk analysis and risk
managemen t document. The l a tter identifies the risk mitigation measures that would prevent the
introduction of plant pests in commercia l shipments of fresh beans from Jordan

. These measures
would include packing the beans in packinghouses approved by Jordan ’s nati onal plant protection organization , washing , and cutting or shredding

. Only commercial c onsignments of
beans would be eligible for importation , and they wou ld need to be accompanied by a certi ficate attesting that phytosanitary requirements have been met. The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to evaluate the potential effects of their proposed and final rules on small business, small organizations and small governmental jurisdictions. Section 603 of the Act requires a n agency to prepare an initial r egulatory
f lexibility a nalysis (IRFA) that describes the expected impact of the rule on small entities and a description of any significant alternatives to the proposed rule which accomplish the stated objectives of applic able statutes and which minimize any significant economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities

. In place of the IRFA, the head of the agency may certify that a2

proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on substantial number of sma ll
entities. 

### U.S Production and Trade
Snap bean s are produc e d across the United States , and are mar keted as either fresh or for processing. In 2010, f

resh beans accou nted for about 23 percent of U.S snap bean production

. Table 1 shows that annual fresh snap bean production in the United States from 2008 to 2010 averaging about 244 ,000 metric tons (MT). Jordan expects to export 200 MT of fresh beans to the continental United States per year , that is, less than one

- tenth of one percent of U.S fresh snap bean production.
Table 1. Annual U.S f

resh snap b ean p roduction, 2008

- 2010

Four States (Florida, California, Georgia, and New York) suppl ied 80 percent of the
United States’ fresh snap beans , 2008

- 2010 (table 2)

. 1 Florida wa s the dominant producer ( 42 percent ), followed by California ( 17 percent ), Georgia ( 14 percent ), and New York ( 7 percent ).
While the nation’s snap bean production declined by 13 percent over th is three

- year period (and

1 National Agricultural Statistic s Service (NASS) chapter IV statistics of vegetables and melons, http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Ag_Statistics/2011/Chapter04.pdf3

Florida’s production dec lined by 27 percent), the four States’ combined 80 percent share of national production remained unchanged

. Table 2

. Fresh snap bean production in Florida, California, Georgia, New York, and nationally 2008

- 2010

Trade data so lely for fresh P. vulgaris are not available

. This species of bean is grouped
with other Phaseolus species as well as with Vigna species, which include c owpeas (also known
as black

- eyed peas) and mung beans

. For the 10

- year period, 2001

- 2010, U.S. annual imports of
fresh or chilled beans included within th is aggregate trade category averaged 27,737 MT and
U.S. exports averaged 36,34 1 MT. 2 Thus, annual net exports of fresh or chilled beans, including P. vulgaris , averaged about 8,600 MT over t he 10 years. This quantity is a relatively small
amount, equivalent to less than 5 percent of the nation’s fresh snap bean production

. 

### Potential Impact on Small Entities
As part of the rulemaking process, APHIS evaluates whether regulations are likely to have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Fresh bean

2 U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by Global Trade Information Services, Inc., http://www.gtis.com/GTA/

. Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 070820, Beans ( Vigna spp., Phaseolus spp. ), fresh or chilled..4

production is classified within the North American Industry Classification System under Other Vegetable (except Potato) and Melon Farming (NAICS 111 219 ). The Small Business
Administration classifie s a business in this industry as small if its annual receipts are not more than $750,000. 3 The latest data on the number of farms that produce snap bean s are found in the
2007 C ensus of Agriculture

. In 2007 , the ave rage market value of snap bean s sold by farms was
about $ 25, 400

. 4 W e conclude that most if not all fresh snap bean farms are small entities

. In 2007, there were 17,300 snap bean farms , of which 90 percent (15,654) harvested
beans for the fresh market

. 5 Table 3 show s that one

- third of farms that harvested snap beans for
the fresh market were located in six States: North Carolina , Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. Notably, the three States shown in table 2 as having the largest levels of fresh snap bean production, Florida, California, Georgia, are not listed in table 3; their snap bean
farms in 2007 numbered 370, 370, and 358, respectively. The data indicat e that snap bean production in these three States takes place on farms that ar e large in comparison to the national
average
.

3 Small Business Administration, Table of Small Business Size Standards, http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Current_Size_Sta ndards_Table.pdf 4 2007 U.S Census of Agriculture and NASS Statistics of Vegetables and Melons http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Ag_Statistics/2011/Chapter04.pdf 5 2007 Census of Agriculture

– State Data, Table 30. h ttp://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publica tions/2007/Full_Report/usv1.pdf5

Table 3. States with the largest n umber of snap b ean f arms where the beans were harvested for the fresh market, 2007

This proposed rule is unlikely to have a significant economic impact on small or large U.S fresh bean producers. While m ost U.S fresh snap bean farmers’ annual receipts are well
below the small

- entity standard , the quantity of P . v ulgaris e xpected to be imported from Jordan would be equivalent to less than one

- tenth of one percent of U.S fresh snap bean production

. The APHIS Administrator has determined that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.