[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 217 (Thursday, November 9, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56504-56506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27814]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Parts 932 and 944
[Docket No. FV95-932-1FIR]
Olives Grown in California and Imported Olives; Establishment of
Limited Use Olive Grade and Size Requirements During the 1995-96 Crop
Year
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a
final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule
which authorized the use of smaller sized olives in the production of
limited use styles for California olives during the 1995-96 crop year.
This final rule allows more olives into fresh market channels and is
consistent with current market demand for olives. As required under
section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, this
final rule also changes the olive import regulation so that it conforms
with the requirements established under the California olive marketing
order.
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 11, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Vawter, California Marketing
Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey
Street, Suite 102-B, Fresno, CA 93721, telephone (209) 487-5901; or
Caroline C. Thorpe, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, Room 2523-S, Washington,
DC 20090-6456; telephone (202) 720-5127.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 148 and Order No. 932 (7 CFR Part 932), as amended,
regulating the handling of olives grown in California, hereinafter
referred to as the order. The order is effective under the Agricultural
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674),
hereinafter referred to as the Act.
This final rule is also issued under section 8e of the Act, which
requires the Secretary of Agriculture to issue grade, size, quality, or
maturity requirements for certain listed commodities, including olives,
imported into the United States that are the same as, or comparable to,
those imposed upon the domestic commodities regulated under the Federal
marketing orders.
The Department is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive
Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
This rule will not preempt any State or local laws, regulations, or
policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this
rule.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary a
petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any
obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance
with law and requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted
therefrom. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the
petition. After the hearing the Secretary would rule on the petition.
The Act provides that the district court of the United States in any
district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her
principal place of business, has jurisdiction in equity to review the
Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is filed
not later than 20 days after date of the entry of the ruling.
There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted
prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of import regulations
issued under section 8e of the Act.
Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this action on
small entities.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be unduly
[[Page 56505]]
or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued pursuant to the
Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that they are brought
about through group action of essentially small entities acting on
their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small entity orientation and
compatibility. Import regulations issued under the Act are based on
those established under Federal marketing orders.
There are 5 handlers of California olives who are subject to
regulation under the order during the current season, and there are
about 1,200 olive producers in California. There are approximately 25
importers of olives subject to the olive import regulation. Small
agricultural producers have been defined by the Small Business
Administration (913 CFR 121.601) as those whose annual receipts are
less than $500,000; and small agricultural service firms, which
includes handlers and importers, have been defined by the Small
Business Administration as those having annual receipts of less than
$5,000,000. None of the domestic olive handlers may be classified as
small entities. The majority of olive producers and importers may be
classified as small entities.
An interim final rule was issued on August 11, 1995, and published
in the Federal Register (60 FR 42772, August 17, 1995), with an
effective date of August 21, 1995. That rule authorized the use of
smaller-sized limited use olives under the order and for importation
into the U.S. during the 1995-96 crop year. That rule provided a 30-day
comment period which ended September 18, 1995. No comments were
received.
Nearly all of the olives grown in the United States are produced in
California. California olives are primarily used for canned black ripe
whole and whole pitted olives which are eaten out of hand as hors
d'oeuvres or used as an ingredient in cooking and in salads. The canned
ripe olive market is essentially a domestic market. A few shipments of
California olives are exported.
Olive production has fluctuated from a low of 24,200 tons during
the 1972-73 crop year to a high of 163,023 tons during the 1992-93 crop
year. The California Olive Committee (committee), the agency
responsible for local administration of the order, indicated that 1994-
95 production totalled about 80,925 tons. Total production for the
1995-96 crop year is estimated to be 75,500 tons. This is the first
time that there have been two consecutive years of declining
production. The unprecedented and unseasonal rains, poor pollination,
and cool weather during the Spring of this year have resulted in a
lower than normal fruit crop set on the trees.
Olive trees generally need to restore their nutrients from one
season to the next, resulting in various varieties of olives produced
in California having alternate bearing characteristics. This may result
in high production one year and low the next, which can cause the total
crop to vary greatly from year to year.
Paragraph (a)(3) of Sec. 932.52 of the order provides that
processed olives smaller than the sizes prescribed for whole and whole
pitted styles may be used for limited uses styles if recommended by the
committee and approved by the Secretary. The minimum sizes which can be
authorized for limited uses were established in a 1971 amendment to the
marketing order. Olives smaller than the prescribed minimum sizes which
are authorized for limited uses must be disposed of through less
profitable non-canning uses such as crushing for oil. Returns to
producers are lower on fruit used for such purposes. The use of smaller
sized olives for limited use styles has been authorized in all but two
crop years since the order was promulgated in 1965.
This rule will help growers and handlers meet the growing market
demand for limited use style olives based upon current conditions. This
demand can be illustrated in the record of shipments of sliced olives
in the previous three years. Shipments of one type of limited use style
fruit (sliced) totalled over 29,000 tons in the 1992-93 season, 34,000
tons in the 1993-94 season, and an estimated 30,000 tons in the 1994-95
season. Permitting the use of such smaller olives for limited use
styles would, therefore, improve grower returns.
Absent this action, olives which are smaller than those authorized
for whole and whole pitted canning uses would have to be disposed of by
handlers into non-canning uses such as crushing into oil.
The specified sizes for the different olive variety groups are the
minimum sizes which are deemed desirable for use in the production of
limited use styles at this time. As in past years, permitting the use
of the smaller olives in the production of limited use styles allows
handlers to take advantage of the strong market for halved, segmented,
sliced, and chopped canned ripe olives. This rule will continue to
permit handlers to market more olives than under regulations effective
prior to the interim final rule.
Also, the committee estimates that production for this crop year is
expected to be at 75,500 tons, which is smaller than the previous two
seasons. The 1993-94 and 1994-95 crop years produced larger crops of
120,049 tons, and 80,925 tons, respectively.
During years with large olive crops, the ratio of limited use size
olives to other sizes tends to be higher; there may be more limited use
size olives in proportion to the other sizes. During years with small
olive crops, the ratio of smaller olives to other sizes tends to be
smaller; there may be fewer limited use size olives in proportion to
the other sizes. The increased availability of limited use size fruit
can be reflected in handler processing for the last three seasons. For
example, during the 1992-93 crop year, 19 percent of the olives (31,175
tons) received by handlers were classified as limited use sizes as
compared with 16 percent of the olives (19,465 tons) in 1993-94, and an
estimated 9 percent of the olives (7,047 tons) in 1994-95. Thus, due to
the poor pollination and sporadic fruit set of the 1995-96 crop, fewer
limited use size olives are expected to be available for harvest. The
percentage of limited use size olives available to handlers is,
therefore, expected to be smaller.
Section 8(e) of the Act requires that whenever grade, size,
quality, or maturity requirements are in effect for olives under a
domestic marketing order, imported olives must meet the same or
comparable requirements. This final rule finalizes an interim final
rule that allowed smaller olives for limited use styles under the
marketing order. Therefore, a corresponding change is needed in the
olive import regulation.
Canned ripe olives, and bulk olives for processing into canned ripe
olives, imported into the United States must meet certain minimum grade
and size requirements specified in Olive Regulation 1 (7 CFR 944.401).
All canned ripe olives are required to be inspected and certified prior
to importation (release from custody of the United States Custom
Service), and all bulk olives for processing into canned ripe olives
must be inspected and certified prior to canning. ``Canned ripe
olives'' means olives in hermetically sealed containers and heat
sterilized under pressure, of two distinct types, ``ripe'' and ``green-
ripe'', as defined in the U.S. Standards for Grades of Canned Ripe
Olives. The term does not include Spanish-style green olives.
Any lot of olives failing to meet the import requirements may be
exported, disposed of, or shipped for exempt uses. Exportation or
disposal of such olives would be accomplished under the
[[Page 56506]]
supervision of the Processed Products Branch of the Fruit and Vegetable
Division, with the costs of certifying the disposal of the olives borne
by the importer. Exempt olives are those imported for processing into
oil or donation to charity. Any person may also import up to 100 pounds
(drained weight) of canned ripe olives or bulk olives exempt from these
grade and size requirements.
This final rule modifies paragraph (b)(12) of the olive import
regulation to authorize the importation of bulk olives which do not
meet the minimum size requirements established for olives for whole and
whole pitted uses to be used in the production of limited use styles
during the 1995-96 crop year.
Permitting the use of smaller olives in the production of limited
use styles will allow importers to better take advantage of the strong
market for halved, segmented, sliced, and chopped canned ripe olives.
Importers will be able to import and market more olives than would be
permitted in the absence of this relaxation in size requirements. This
additional opportunity is provided to maximize the use of the available
olive supply and facilitate market expansion. In the absence of this
rule, the smaller fruit could not be imported for limited uses, and
would have to be disposed of through less profitable, non-canning uses
under the supervision of the inspection service, exported, or utilized
in exempt outlets.
Based on these considerations, the Administrator of the AMS has
determined that this action will not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
In accordance with section 8e of the Act, the U.S. Trade
Representative has concurred with the issuance of this final rule.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the committee's recommendations and other information, it is found that
finalizing the interim final rule, without change, as published in the
Federal Register on August 17, 1995 (60 FR 42772), will tend to
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
List of Subjects
7 CFR Part 932
Marketing agreements, Olives, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
7 CFR Part 944
Avocados, Food grades and standards, Grapefruit, Grapes, Imports,
Kiwifruit, Limes, Olives, Oranges.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR parts 932 and 944
are amended as follows:
PART 932--OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA
Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 932, which
was published at 60 FR 42772 on August 17, 1995, is adopted as a final
rule without change.
PART 944--FRUITS; IMPORT REGULATIONS
Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 944, which
was published at 60 FR 42772 on August 17, 1995, is adopted as a final
rule without change.
Dated: November 3, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-27814 Filed 11-8-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
