Unshu Oranges From the Republic of Korea

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Parts 301 and 319

[Docket No. 94-069-2]

Unshu Oranges From the Republic of Korea

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations governing the importation and

interstate movement of citrus fruit to allow, under certain conditions,

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Unshu oranges grown in citrus-canker free zones on Cheju Island,

Republic of Korea, to be imported into the United States and moved

interstate. This action relieves restrictions on the importation into

and distribution within the United States of Unshu oranges from Cheju

Island, Republic of Korea, without presenting a significant risk of

spreading citrus canker.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 24, 1995.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Peter Grosser or Mr. Frank Cooper,

Senior Operations Officers, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River

Road Unit 139, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Citrus canker is a disease that affects citrus, and is caused by

the infectious bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri (Hasse) Dye.

The strain of citrus canker that occurs in the Republic of Korea

infects the twigs, leaves, and fruit of a wide spectrum of Citrus

species.

The regulations in 7 CFR 319.28 (referred to below as the

regulations) prohibit the importation of citrus from Eastern and

Southeastern Asia, Japan, Brazil, Paraguay, and other designated areas,

except for Unshu oranges (Citrus reticulata Blanco var. unshu, also

known as Satsuma) grown in citrus canker-free areas in Japan. After

meeting certain growing, packing, and inspection requirements, Japanese

Unshu oranges may be imported into any area of the United States except

American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, the Northern

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the Virgin Islands of the

United States. Also, under the regulations in 7 CFR 301.83, Unshu

oranges grown in Japan are prohibited from being moved interstate from

any quarantined area into or through any nonquarantined area of the

United States; all areas of the United States, except for American

Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, the Northern Mariana

Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the Virgin Islands of the United

States, are quarantined.

On March 29, 1995, we published in the Federal Register (60 FR

16067-16069, Docket No. 94-069-1) a proposal to amend the regulations

by allowing the importation of Unshu oranges from Cheju Island,

Republic of Korea, under the same conditions that apply to Unshu

oranges grown in Japan. We proposed to allow these importations at the

request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the

Republic of Korea, and after the Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS) conducted pest risk assessments that indicated that

Unshu oranges from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea, could be imported

into the United States under the conditions proposed without

significant plant pest risk. Copies of the pest risk assessments are

available, upon written request, from the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 30 days ending

April 28, 1995. We received three comments by that date. They were from

a state department of agriculture and two industry groups. One comment

supported the proposal as written. Two commenters were both concerned

with the potential pest risk and the replacement of plant pathologists

with plant protection officers. The comments are discussed below by

topic.

Pest Risk

Two commenters expressed concerns that the pest risk review was

inadequate. They both felt that too much emphasis was placed on

comparisons to Japan and the implied similarity in the growing areas.

One commenter agreed that our experience with Japan showed a minimal

threat from the importation of Unshu Oranges from Japan. However, that

commenter was concerned about the lack of experience that we have with

the Republic of Korea and recommended that we should only permit Unshu

oranges from the Republic of Korea to be imported into greatly

restricted areas of the United States, as was done many years ago for

Unshu oranges from Japan. The other commenter was concerned about the

occurrence of citrus canker on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea. Both

commenters were concerned about the interception of black spot on Unshu

oranges from the Republic of Korea.

The regulations in 7 CFR 319.28(b) detail extensive safeguards on

the growing, packing, and inspection of Unshu oranges exported from

Japan into the United States. These safeguards also will apply to Unshu

oranges imported from the Republic of Korea. Recent pest risk

assessments for Unshu oranges from Japan and the Republic of Korea have

shown that these safeguards will prevent the introduction of citrus

canker and other citrus diseases from Unshu oranges imported into the

United States from both Japan and Cheju Island, Republic of Korea.

Our recommendation to permit entry under specified conditions was

based on literature surveys for plant pests, the pest list provided by

Korea, records of pest interceptions at U.S. ports, surveys conducted

by Korea, and two on-site surveys conducted by APHIS. We also used our

experience with the success of the safeguards used in Japan. We

reviewed the evidence gathered from the sources mentioned above to

determine what pests we might encounter. Although, citrus canker does

occur in the Republic of Korea, one of our requirements is that the

Unshu oranges must be grown and packed in canker-free export areas.

These export areas must also be surrounded by a 400-meter-wide canker-

free buffer zone in which only certain varieties of citrus may be

grown. These safeguards, combined with required inspections,

sterilizations, and other precautions, are sufficient to ensure the

Unshu oranges are canker-free.

The comment about black spot of citrus disease referred to

interceptions of black spot on Unshu oranges from the Republic of

Korea. Citrus fruit from the Republic of Korea has been prohibited

entry into the United States, therefore, we have no interception

records of black spot from export quality fruit. Interceptions of fruit

with black spot, referred to by the commenter, were from baggage and

therefore may or may not have been on fruit produced in the Republic of

Korea. Evidence of the occurrence of black spot in the Republic of

Korea is inconclusive. Quarantine officials from the National Plant

Quarantine Service of the Republic of Korea have stated that the

disease has not been detected in their surveys. However, even if black

spot is present in the Republic of Korea, we have determined that the

safeguards provided for in the regulations will prevent the

introduction of citrus-canker and other citrus diseases such as black

spot into the United States from Unshu oranges from the Republic of

Korea. Therefore, we are not making any changes based on this comment.

One commenter was concerned that no workplan was available to

verify the Republic of Korea's ability to comply with the requirements

for certification.

A workplan is an agreement that identifies both countries'

responsibilities for preclearance programs. Workplans for the

importation into the United States of fruits and vegetables under

preclearance programs are implemented prior to commencement of a

preclearance program. These workplans are not drafted or evaluated

until a proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register. A

workplan between APHIS and the Republic of Korea's plant protection

services has been agreed to and will be implemented soon. Therefore, we

are not making any changes based on this comment.

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Plant Protection Officers

Two commenters were concerned about the replacement of plant

pathologists with plant protection officers. They felt that the

required inspections should continue to be performed by qualified plant

pathologists. One commenter believed that plant protection officers

might accurately identify canker symptoms, but that only trained plant

pathologists could detect the incidence of other diseases, such as

black spot, on fruit presented for inspection. It is our experience

that plant protection officers can be trained to detect these diseases

in the field, and that requiring plant pathologists to inspect the

fruit is unnecessary.

Therefore, based on the rationale set forth in the proposed rule

and in this document, we are adopting the provisions of the proposal as

a final rule, without change.

Effective Date

This is a substantive rule that relieves restrictions and, pursuant

to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made effective less than 30

days after publication in the Federal Register. Immediate

implementation of this rule is necessary to provide relief to those

persons who are adversely affected by restrictions we no longer find

warranted. The shipping season for Unshu oranges from Korea will begin

soon. Making this rule effective immediately will allow interested

producers and others in the marketing chain to benefit during this

year's shipping season. Therefore, the Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this rule should be

effective upon signature.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The 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.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., we have performed a Final

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, set forth below, regarding the

economic impact of this rule on small entities.

This final rule allows Unshu oranges grown on Cheju Island,

Republic of Korea, to be imported into and through 45 States after

meeting certain requirements.

Unshu oranges are imported for a small market in the United States

and sell for two to three times the price of the domestically grown

Satsuma tangerines, a citrus fruit similar to the Unshu orange.

Imported Unshu oranges are available for only a short period each year,

from early November into mid-January.

In the 1992-93 growing season, domestic producers grew

approximately 362 million pounds of tangerines in Arizona, California,

and Florida. We estimate annual domestic production of Satsuma

tangerines to be about 1.9 million pounds, 0.52 percent of total

domestic tangerine production.

We anticipate that following the promulgation of this rule, the

Republic of Korea initially could export about 1.1 million pounds of

Unshu oranges to the United States and increase this amount to around

3.3 to 4.4 million pounds within a few years. While 4.4 million pounds

of imported Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea would only amount

to 1.2 percent of the total domestic tangerine production, it would

constitute over twice the annual domestic production of Satsuma

tangerines. Again, however, these imported Unshu oranges could cost up

to three times as much as domestically produced Satsuma tangerines.

The aggregate economic impact of this rule is expected to be

positive. U.S. consumers will benefit from a greater availability of

Unshu oranges. U.S. importers will also benefit from a greater

availability of Unshu oranges to import.

In the course of rulemaking, if we had come across evidence

indicating that importation of Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea

would pose a significant risk of plant pest introduction, we would have

considered either developing alternative requirements regarding that

importation or continuing to prohibit the importation of Unshu oranges

from the Republic of Korea. However, our pest risk assessments and our

review of public comments on the proposal indicated that importation of

Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea would pose no significant risk

of plant pest introduction.

Executive Order 12778

This rule allows Unshu oranges to be imported into the United

States from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea. State and local laws and

regulations regarding Unshu oranges imported under this rule will be

preempted while the fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh Unshu oranges

are generally imported for immediate distribution and sale to the

consuming public, and will 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-by-case 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

This rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping

requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.).

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 301

Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

7 CFR Part 319

Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Incorporation by

reference, Nursery Stock, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

Accordingly, 7 CFR parts 301 and 319 are amended as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and

164-167; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

Sec. 301.83 [Amended]

2. In Sec. 301.83, paragraph (a) is amended by adding the phrase

``or on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea,'' immediately following

``Japan''.

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

3. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, and 450; 21

U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

Sec. 319.28 [Amended]

4. Section 319.28 is amended as follows:

a. Paragraph (a)(1) is amended by adding the phrase ``the Republic

of Korea,'' immediately following the phrase ``Japan and adjacent

islands,''.

b. In paragraph (b), the introductory text is amended by adding the

phrase ``or on Cheju Island, Republic of Korea,'' immediately following

``Japan''.

c. In paragraph (b)(1), the first sentence is amended by removing

the phrase ``Japanese Plant Protection

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Service'' and adding the phrase ``plant protection service of the

country of origin'' in its place; and in the third and sixth sentences,

the word ``pathologists'' is removed and the phrase ``protection

officers'' is added in its place and the word ``Japan'' is removed and

the phrase ``the country of origin'' is added in its place.

d. Paragraph (b)(2) is amended by removing the word

``pathologists'' and adding the phrase ``protection officers'' in its

place and by removing the word ``Japan'' and adding the phrase ``the

country of origin'' in its place.

e. Paragraph (b)(4)(ii) is amended by removing the phrase

``Japanese Plant Protection Service'' and adding the phrase ``plant

protection service of the country of origin'' in its place.

f. Paragraph (b)(7) is removed.

g. In paragraph (f), the word ``Japan'' is removed and the phrase

``the country of origin of the Unshu oranges'' is added in its place.

Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of July 1995.

Lonnie J. King,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 95-18778 Filed 7-31-95; 8:45 am]

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