United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

November 

2011

Analysis in Support of Certification that the 

Rule will not have a Significant Economic 

Impact on a Substantial Number of Small 

Entities

Final Rule

APHIS-2010-0024

RIN 0579-AD38

Importation of Pomegranate Fruit from Chile 

into the Continental United States under a 

Systems Approach

Policy & Program Development

Policy Analysis & Development
i

Summary

Pomegranates may be imported into the continental United States when fumigated with 

methyl bromide. This rule will allow the importation of fresh pomegranate fruit from Chile 

using a systems approach to pest risk mitigation. Under this systems approach, the fruit will be 

grown in a place of production that is registered with the Government of Chile and certified as 

having a low prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis. The fruit will undergo pre-harvest sampling 

and post-harvest inspection. Each consignment of fruit will be accompanied by a phytosanitary

certificate with an additional declaration stating that the fruit had been found free of Brevipalpus 

chilensis based on field and packinghouse inspections.

Entities potentially affected by the rule are U.S. pomegranate fruit growers. They are

classified within the industry, Other Non-citrus Fruit Farming, for which the Small Business 

Administration small-entity standard is annual sales of not more than $750,000. Annual receipts

for this industry averaged about $112,000 in 2007, well below the small-entity standard.

While most U.S. pomegranate operations are small, they are not expected to be 

significantly affected by the rule. Relatively small quantities of pomegranates are expected to be 

imported from Chile because of this rule, equivalent to less than 4 percent of the estimated U.S.

production of pomegranates consumed domestically in recent years. Moreover, Chilean 

pomegranates will be imported during the U.S. off-season. The counter seasonality will preclude 

negative price impacts for U.S. producers. Off-season availability of pomegranates from Chile

may help broaden demand for this fruit, thereby benefiting domestic producers over time.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

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

substantial number of small entities. 
1

Introduction 

Currently, pomegranate fruit is approved for importation from Chile into the continental 

United States when fumigated with methyl bromide. This rule will allow the importation of 

fresh pomegranate fruit from Chile using a systems approach to pest risk mitigation. Under this 

systems approach, the fruit will be grown in a place of production that is registered with the 

Government of Chile and certified as having a low prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis. The 

fruit will undergo pre-harvest sampling and post-harvest inspection. Each consignment of fruit 

will be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the 

fruit had been found free of Brevipalpus chilensis based on field and packinghouse inspections. 

The importation of pomegranates from Chile will benefit U.S. consumers and could potentially

benefit U.S. producers as well.

Pomegranates have become increasingly popular in recent years, mainly due to research 

on their health benefits. The number of food and drink products containing pomegranate 

increased seven-fold between 1995 (258 products) and 2009 (1800 products) (Gloor 2009). 

Pomegranate juice has three times the amount of antioxidants as green tea or red wine; 

antioxidants reduce the effect of dangerous oxidants (Wohlfarter et al. 2010). Due to widely 

publicized health benefits, U.S. demand for and production of pomegranates are expected to 

continue to increase.

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

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

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

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

FRFA, the head of an agency may certify that a rule will not have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities. This analysis provides the factual basis for 

certification of this rule.

U.S. Pomegranate Production and Trade

The United States is one of the top five producers of pomegranates worldwide. 

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), there were 369 pomegranate 

farms with 9,535 planted acres in 2002; in 2007, there were 599 farms with 24,517 acres (table 

1). Of the 24,517 total planted acres, 50.6 percent (12,415 acres) were of nonbearing age. Of the 

599 farms, 48.6 percent (291 farms) had orchards of nonbearing age. California accounted for 

over 99 percent of the total pomegranate acreage in 2007, with 24,458 acres.

Pomegranate trees begin producing fruit three years after planting and full yields are 

typically realized during the sixth year (Day et al. 2010). The number of planted acres of 

commercial pomegranates in 2009 was approximately 29,000 acres. In the next two to three 

years, the number of bearing acres will increase greatly. 

Table 1. Number of U.S. pomegranate farms and acres, 2002 and 2007

Total Bearing age acres Nonbearing age acres

Farms Acres Farms Acres Farms Acres

2002

 

369 

 

9,535 

 

312 

 

4,044 

 

109 

 

5,491 

2007

 

599 

 

24,517 

 

432 

 

12,103 

 

291 

 

12,415 

Source: Census of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

U.S. pomegranate production is not reported separately by the California Department of 

Food and Agriculture and USDA, but rather is combined with other fruits under “miscellaneous 

fruit production.” However, yield estimates have been developed by the University of California 

Cooperative Extension (table 2). Using the NASS data for 2007 (assuming that all 24,517 acres 
are now of bearing age) and an average yield of about 3.7 MT per acre, U.S. production is 

estimated to be around 90,700 MT per year and growing. Approximately 75 percent of the U.S. 

pomegranate crop is sold domestically, while the remaining 25 percent is exported to Japan, 

Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Mexico, and certain Middle Eastern countries 

(Pomegranate Council 2007). After adjusting for exports, U.S. domestic supply is estimated to 

be around 68,000 MT. 

Table 2. Estimated Average Pomegranate Yields, 2004 –

2008

Year Boxes per Acre MT per Acre

2004 333 4.23

2005 300 3.81

2006 234 2.98

2007 286 3.64

2008 296 3.76

Five-year average 290 3.68

Source: 2010 Pomegranate Costs and Returns, UC Cooperative 

Extension.

Note: Pomegranate yields are measured in boxes per acre. Boxes weigh 

28 lbs. Converted from short tons.

Potential Impact on Small Entities

Entities potentially affected by the rule are pomegranate fruit growers. They are

classified within the industry, Other Non-citrus Fruit Farming (NAICS 111339). Establishments 

in this industry are considered small by the Small Business Administration (SBA) standard if 

annual sales are not more than $750,000.

It is reasonable to assume that most if not all U.S. growers of pomegranates are small

entities, based on composite industry data. In 2007, there were 23,641 farms in the Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming category. Their production had a total market value of about $2.6 billion. 

Thus, annual receipts for this industry averaged $111,700, well below the SBA’s small-entity

standard.
The quantity of fresh pomegranates that will be imported from Chile because of this rule 

is estimated to be between 10 and 100 40-foot shipping containers. A typical 40-foot container 

can transport 26 MT of pomegranates, so the total quantity that will be imported from Chile is 

expected to range from 260 to 2,600 MT per year. If 2,600 MT of fresh pomegranates are

imported, this amount will be equivalent to less than four percent of the estimated U.S. 

production that is consumed domestically (68,000 MT).

Although these percentages are small, the increase in supply of pomegranates could 

contribute to a slight price decline for U.S. producers, if the fruit were imported during the same 

months that domestically produced pomegranates are sold. However, the Chilean fruit will be 

imported during the U.S. off-season.

Pomegranates grown in the United States, for example, are harvested between the months 

of August and October (Day et al. 2010). After harvest, fresh pomegranates can be stored for up 

to three months in cold storage making them commercially available from October through 

December. Chile plans to export pomegranates to the continental United States during winter 

months in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to this counter seasonality, fresh pomegranates from 

Chile will provide consumers with increased availability of the fruit but not directly compete 

with U.S. production. For pomegranates, given its rapidly expanding market, the off-season fruit 

imports from Chile may help broaden demand for pomegranates, thereby benefiting U.S. 

producers over time.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

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

substantial number of small entities. 
References

California Pomegranate Council, 2007. California Pomegranates. 

http://www.pomegranates.org/home.shtml.

Census of Agriculture, 2007 

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

Day, Ken R., Karen M. Klonsky, and Richard L. De Moura. Sample Costs to Establish and 

Produce Pomegranates. San Joaquin Valley, 2010. University of California Cooperative 

Extension.

Global Trade Atlas, http://www.gtis.com/gta/default.cfm

Gloor, Sue. “The Politics of the Pomegranate.” Bard Politik (2009). Bard Globalization and 

International Affairs. Bard College, 2009. http://bgia.bard.edu/articles.php?cid=5&id=2.

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

Business Size Standards Match to North American Industry Classification System 

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

Wohlfarter, M., Giliomee, J.H. & Venter, E. 2010. A Survey of the arthropod pests associated 

with commercial pomegranates, Punica granatum (Lythraceae), in South Africa. African 

Entomology 18(1): 192-199.