Comment from Ken Love

On behalf of Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Corp., we would ask that any ruling clearly state that Hawaii is excluded from any importation of Chilean figs and pomegranates. This includes importation via the continental United States. Too often fruit crops have been found in Hawaii that were permitted in the 48 states but not in Hawaii. Both of these are emerging locally grown production crops serving local markets. Any additional imported crop found in Hawaii would severely damage these emerging markets for locally grown produce as well as potentially contaminate local crops without a more extensive pest risk assessment .