This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

42727 

Vol. 82, No. 175 

Tuesday, September 12, 2017 

1To view the proposed rule, pest risk analysis 

(PRA), risk management document (RMD), and the 

comments we received, go to https://

www.regulations.gov/docket?D=APHIS-2015-0098. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2015–0098] 

RIN 0579–AE27 

Importation of Fresh Persimmon With 

Calyxes From Japan Into the United 

States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations concerning the importation 

of fruits and vegetables to allow the 

importation of fresh persimmon with 

calyxes from Japan into the United 

States. As a condition of entry, the 

persimmon must be produced in 

accordance with a systems approach 

that includes requirements for orchard 

certification, orchard pest control, postharvest safeguards, fruit culling, 

traceback, and sampling. The 

persimmons will also have to be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate with an additional 

declaration stating that they were 

produced under, and meet all the 

components of, the agreed upon systems 

approach and were inspected and found 

to be free of quarantine pests. This 

action will allow the importation of 

fresh persimmons with calyxes from 

Japan while continuing to protect 

against the introduction of plant pests 

into the United States. 

DATES: Effective October 12, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Lamb, Senior Regulatory Policy 

Coordinator, Regulatory Policy and 

Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 851–2103. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart— 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56– 

1 through 319.56–78, referred to below 

as the regulations), the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

prohibits or restricts the importation of 

fruits and vegetables into the United 

States from certain parts of the world to 

prevent plant pests from being 

introduced into or disseminated within 

the United States. 

On August 30, 2016, we published in 

the Federal Register (81 FR 59522– 

59526, Docket No. APHIS–2015–0098) a 

proposal 1 to amend the regulations to 

allow the importation of fresh 

persimmon with calyxes from Japan into 

the United States under a systems 

approach that includes requirements for 

orchard certification, orchard pest 

control, post-harvest safeguards, fruit 

culling, traceback, and sampling. 

We solicited comments concerning 

our proposal for 60 days ending October 

31, 2016. We received three comments 

by that date, from members of the public 

and the Hawaii Department of 

Agriculture (HDOA). The comments are 

discussed below. 

One commenter requested that we not 

allow any biological materials into the 

United States to eliminate the risks 

associated with exotic plant pests and 

diseases. Another commenter asked if 

the demand for persimmon with calyxes 

was high enough in the United States to 

justify the risks associated with the 

importation of the fruit from Japan. The 

commenter suggested that our resources 

would be better invested in the 

domestic production of fresh 

persimmon fruit. 

Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA), 

APHIS’ primary charge with regard to 

international import trade is to identify 

and manage the phytosanitary risks 

associated with importing commodities. 

When we determine that the risk 

associated with the importation of a 

commodity can be successfully 

mitigated, it is our responsibility to 

make provisions to import that 

commodity. For the reasons explained 

in the RMD and the proposed rule, we 

have determined that the phytosanitary 

measures required by this rule are 

sufficient to mitigate the risks associated 

with the importation of persimmons 

from Japan. 

The HDOA requested that fresh 

persimmon with calyxes from Japan be 

fumigated with an appropriate and 

effective chemical prior to importation 

to mitigate the risks associated with 

several pests like Pseudococcus cryptus 

and Scirtothrips dorsalis, which are two 

pests associated with Japanese 

persimmon that are found in certain 

regions of Hawaii. Alternatively, the 

HDOA requested that the proposal only 

apply to the continental United States, 

keeping in place the prohibition on the 

importation of persimmon with calyxes 

from Japan into Hawaii. 

The PRA rated P. cryptus and S. 

dorsalis as having ‘High’ risk for all of 

the United States (including Hawaii). 

The risk mitigation measures considered 

this and concluded that the systems 

approach was adequate to address the 

risk associated with the importation of 

persimmon with calyxes from Japan 

and, therefore, fumigation is not a 

necessary mitigation option. As 

discussed in the RMD, the pest control 

used for persimmons in Japan will 

follow the guidelines jointly agreed to 

by APHIS and the national plant 

protection organization (NPPO) of Japan 

and will include inspections and 

oversight. These guidelines are 

mandatory for persimmon producers in 

Japan who wish to export their 

persimmons to the United States. As 

such, we have determined that the 

systems approach will be effective at 

mitigating the risk of these quarantine 

pests following the pathway and being 

introduced into Hawaii or any other 

State and that it is not necessary to limit 

consignments to the continental United 

States. 

The HDOA also noted that 

persimmons in Hawaii are commercially 

produced and cultivated as a specialty 

crop, with the fruit retailing locally for 

higher than the projected price of 

persimmons from Japan, which could 

negatively impact Hawaii’s persimmon 

industry. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 

weekly records on advertised fruit and 

vegetable retail prices confirm that retail 

prices of fresh persimmon sold in 

Hawaii sharply increase every January, 

generally from below $2 per pound in 

December to over $5 per pound in 

January. However, given Japan’s 

premium export prices and limited 


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42728 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 12, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

export volumes, impacts of the rule on 

retail prices of fresh persimmon in 

Hawaii are expected to be minor. 

The HDOA expressed concern that 

proposed § 319.56–76(c)(2) does not 

explain how persimmons produced in 

accordance with the regulations would 

be segregated from persimmons that are 

not produced in accordance with those 

requirements. Additionally, the HDOA 

expressed concern that the sanitation 

practices of packinghouses that process 

different lots of persimmons are omitted 

from the requirements. 

The NPPO of Japan and APHIS will 

develop an operational workplan that 

details the activities that the 

packinghouses will carry out to meet the 

requirements of the systems approach. 

The operational workplan will include 

detailed segregation and sanitation 

protocols to ensure that all 

consignments intended for importation 

into the United States are free from 

quarantine pests and disease. 

Therefore, for the reasons discussed 

in the proposed rule, we are adopting 

the proposed rule as a final rule without 

change. 

Note: In the proposed rule, the system 

approach for persimmons with calyxes from 

Japan was designated as § 319.56–76; 

however, that section has since been utilized. 

Therefore, the systems approach will be 

added as § 319.56–79. 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13771 and 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This final 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 

does not trigger the requirements of 

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 on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 

in this document for a link to 

Regulations.gov) or by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Most U.S. persimmon production 

takes place in California, where 2013 

production totaled about 35,700 metric 

tons (MT) valued at about $40 million, 

triple the 2011 level of production. U.S. 

persimmon imports in 2014 totaled 

1,757 MT valued at about $3 million, $2 

million of which were imported from 

Israel and $0.4 million from Spain. The 

United States is a net exporter of fresh 

persimmon, with the value of exports 

totaling about $6 million in 2014. 

Japan’s persimmon acreage and 

production have been gradually 

declining over the last decade. A very 

small percentage of Japan’s persimmon 

(about 0.2 percent of production) was 

exported in 2014, totaling about 578 MT 

and valued at $2.4 million, primarily to 

Southeast Asia. The average export 

price of fresh persimmon from Japan 

was $4.13 per kilogram (KG) in 2014. 

This price is considerably higher than 

the average price paid by the United 

States for fresh persimmon imports, 

about $1.70 per KG in 2014, and the 

average farm-gate price for persimmon 

produced in California, about $1.11 per 

KG in 2013. The wide price differential 

between persimmon exported from 

Japan and persimmon imported or 

produced by the United States suggests 

that the competitiveness of persimmon 

from Japan in the U.S. market will be 

limited. 

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, 

Forestry and Fisheries expects 30 to 50 

MT of fresh persimmons to be exported 

to the United States in the first year, and 

the same or additional amounts in 

following years. This level of imports, 

valued at about $124,000 to $207,000 

based on the average export price of 

$4.13 per KG in 2014, would have little 

economic impact on U.S. entities, large 

or small, all the more so given their 

likely high price compared to the 

average price of persimmons imported 

from elsewhere. 

The Small Business Administration’s 

(SBA) small-entity standard for entities 

involved in fruit farming is $750,000 or 

less in annual receipts (NAICS 111339). 

It is probable that most or all U.S. 

persimmon producers are small 

businesses by the SBA standard. We 

expect any impact of the rule for these 

entities will be minimal, given Japan’s 

expected small share of the U.S. 

persimmon market. 

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. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule allows fresh 

persimmon with calyxes to be imported 

into the United States from Japan. State 

and local laws and regulations regarding 

persimmon with calyxes imported 

under this rule will be preempted while 

the fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh 

fruits are generally imported for 

immediate distribution and sale to the 

consuming public, and 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 case-bycase basis. 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.), the new 

requirements included in this final rule, 

which were filed under 0579–0455, 

have been submitted for approval to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). When OMB notifies us of its 

decision, if approval is denied, we will 

publish a document in the Federal 

Register providing notice of what action 

we plan to take. 

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 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 are amending 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, 7701–7772, and 

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

2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

■ 2. Section 319.56–79 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–79 Persimmons with calyxes 

from Japan. 

Fresh persimmons (Diospyros kaki 

Thunb.) may be imported into the 

United States only under the conditions 

described in this section. These 

conditions are designed to prevent the 

introduction of the following quarantine 

pests: Adisciso kaki Yamamoto, a 

fungus; Colletotrichum horii B. Weir & 

P.R. Johnst, a fungus; Conogethes 

puntiferalis (Guene ́e), a yellow peach 

moth; Crisicoccus matsumotoi (Siraiwa), 


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a mealybug; Cryptosporiopsis kaki 

(Hara) Weinlm, a fungus; Homonopsis 

illotana (Kennel), a moth; Lobesia 

aeolopa (Meyrick), a moth; fungi 

Mycosphaerella nawae Hiura & Ikata, 

Pestalotia diospyri Syd. and P. Syd., 

Pestalotiopsis acaciae (Thumen) 

Yokoyama & Kaneko, Pestalotiopsis 

crassiuscula Steyaert, Phoma kakivora 

Hara, and Phoma loti Cooke; 

Ponticulothrips diospyrosi (Haga & 

Okajima), a thrip; Pseudococcus cryptus 

(Hempel), a mealybug; Scirtothrips 

dorsalis (Hood), a thrip; Stathmopoda 

masinissa (Meyrick), a moth; 

Tenuipalpus zhizhilashviliae (Reck), a 

mite; and Thrips coloratus (Schmutz), a 

thrip. 

(a) General requirements. (1) The 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of Japan must provide an 

operational workplan to APHIS that 

details the activities that the NPPO of 

Japan 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. 

(2) Commercial consignments. 

Persimmons from Japan may be 

imported in commercial consignments 

only. 

(b) Places of production requirements. 

(1) All places of production that 

participate in the export program must 

be approved by and registered with the 

Japan NPPO. 

(2) The NPPO of Japan must visit and 

inspect the place of production monthly 

beginning at blossom drop and 

continuing until the end of the shipping 

season for quarantine pests. Appropriate 

pest controls must be applied in 

accordance with the operational 

workplan. If the NPPO of Japan 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 to 

the United States until APHIS and the 

NPPO of Japan conduct an investigation 

and appropriate remedial actions have 

been implemented. 

(3) Harvested fruit must be 

transported to the packinghouse in 

containers marked to identify the place 

of production from which the 

consignment of fruit originated. 

(c) Packinghouse requirements. (1) All 

packinghouses that participate in the 

export program must be approved by 

and registered with the Japanese NPPO. 

(2) During the time the packinghouse 

is in use for exporting persimmons to 

the United States, the packinghouse 

may only accept persimmons from 

registered approved production sites 

and the fruit must be segregated from 

fruit intended for other markets. 

(3) All damaged or diseased fruit must 

be culled at the packinghouse. 

(4) Boxes or other containers in which 

the fruit is shipped must be marked to 

identify the place of production where 

the fruit originated and the 

packinghouse where it was packed. 

(5) The NPPO of Japan must monitor 

packinghouse operations to verify that 

the packinghouses are complying with 

the requirements of the systems 

approach. If the NPPO of Japan finds 

that a packinghouse is not complying 

with the requirements of this section, no 

fruit from the packinghouse will be 

eligible for export to the United States 

until APHIS and the NPPO of Japan 

conduct an investigation and 

appropriate remedial actions have been 

implemented. 

(d) Sampling. Inspectors from the 

NPPO of Japan must inspect a biometric 

sample of the fruit from each 

consignment at a rate to be determined 

by APHIS. The inspectors must visually 

inspect for quarantine pests listed in the 

operational workplan required by 

paragraph (a) of this section and must 

cut fruit to inspect for quarantine pests 

that are internal feeders. If quarantine 

pests are detected in this inspection, the 

consignment will be prohibited from 

export to the United States. 

(e) Phytosanitary certificate. Each 

consignment of persimmons must be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate of inspection issued by the 

Japan NPPO with an additional 

declaration stating that the fruit in the 

consignment were grown, packed, and 

inspected and found to be free of pests 

in accordance with the requirements of 

7 CFR 319.56–79. 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0579–0455) 

Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of 

September 2017. 

Michael C. Gregoire, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19226 Filed 9–11–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No. APHIS–2015–0050] 

RIN 0579–AE21 

Importation of Bone-In Ovine Meat 

From Uruguay 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations governing the importation of 

certain animals, meat, and other animal 

products by allowing, under certain 

conditions, the importation of bone-in 

ovine meat from Uruguay. Based on the 

evidence in a risk assessment that we 

prepared, we believe that bone-in ovine 

meat can safely be imported from 

Uruguay provided certain conditions are 

met. This final rule will provide for the 

importation of bone-in ovine meat from 

Uruguay into the United States, while 

continuing to protect the United States 

against the introduction of foot-andmouth disease. 

DATES: Effective October 12, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Stephanie Kordick, Import Risk Analyst, 

Regional Evaluation Services, National 

Import Export Services, VS, APHIS, 920 

Main Campus Drive, Suite 200, Raleigh, 

NC; (919) 855–7733; 

Stephanie.K.Kordick@aphis.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 

(referred to below as the regulations) 

prohibit or restrict the importation of 

certain animals and animal products 

into the United States to prevent the 

introduction of various diseases, 

including rinderpest, foot-and-mouth 

disease (FMD), African swine fever, 

classical swine fever, and swine 

vesicular disease. These are dangerous 

and destructive communicable diseases 

of ruminants and swine. Section 94.1 of 

the regulations contains criteria for 

recognition by the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 

foreign regions as free of rinderpest or 

free of both rinderpest and FMD. APHIS 

considers Uruguay to be free of 

rinderpest. However, APHIS does not 

consider Uruguay to be free of FMD 

because Uruguay vaccinates cattle 

against FMD. 

On July 1, 2016, we published in the 

Federal Register (81 FR 43115–43120, 

Docket No. APHIS–2015–0050) a 


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