Mango Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Reapportionment

AGENCY:

Agricultural Marketing Service.

ACTION:

Proposed rule.

SUMMARY:

This rule proposes to adjust the number of members on the National Mango Board (Board) from 20 to 18 to reflect the elimination of two non-voting wholesaler/retailer positions. In accordance with the Mango Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order), which is authorized under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (Act), a review of the composition of the Board must be conducted every five years. The Board has reviewed the production volumes and geographical distribution of domestic and imported mangos, and submitted this information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture with a recommendation that no changes be made to the number of importer, first handler, or producer seats on the Board. However, the Board recommends elimination of two non-voting wholesaler/retailer positions that have not been filled since 2007.

DATES:

Comments must be received by April 13, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. Comments may also be sent to the Research and Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 0632-S, Stop 0244, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0244; fax: 202-205-2800. All comments should reference the document number and the date and page number of this issue of the Federal Register. Comments will be made available for public inspection in the above office during regular business hours, or may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments submitted in response to this proposed rule will be included in the record and will be made available to the public. Please be advised that the identity of the individuals or entities submitting comments will be made public on the Internet at the address provided above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Veronica Douglass, Marketing Specialist, Research and Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 0244, Room 0632-S, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0244; telephone: 888-720-9917; fax: 202-205-2800; or e-mail: veronica.douglass@ams.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This rule is issued under the Mango Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (Order) [7 CFR part 1206]. The Order is authorized by the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (Act) [7 U.S.C. 7411-7425].

Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review process required by Executive Order 12866 for this action.

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have a retroactive effect.

Section 524 of the Act provides that the Act shall not affect or preempt any other State or Federal law authorizing promotion or research relating to an agricultural commodity.

Under the Act, a person subject to an order may file a petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Department) stating that an order, any provision of an order, or any obligation imposed in connection with an order, is not established in accordance with the law, and requesting a modification of an order or an exemption from an order. Any petition filed challenging an order, any provision of an order, or any obligation imposed in connection with an order, shall be filed within two years after the effective date of an order, provision, or obligation subject to challenge in the petition. The petitioner will have the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. Thereafter, the Department will issue a ruling on the petition. The Act provides that the district court of the United States for any district in which the petitioner resides or conducts business shall have the jurisdiction to review a final ruling on the petition, if the petitioner files a complaint for that purpose not later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the Department's final ruling.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), AMS has considered the economic impact of this rule on small entities that would be affected by this rule. The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory action to scale on businesses subject to such action, so that small businesses will not be disproportionately burdened.

The Small Business Administration defines small agricultural producers as those having annual receipts of no more than $750,000, and small agricultural service firms as those having annual receipts of no more than $7 million (13 CFR part 121). First handlers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers would be considered agricultural service firms. Currently, fewer than five first handlers and 193 importers are subject to assessment under the Order. The majority of producers would be considered small businesses. The majority of these first handlers and importers would be considered small businesses, while wholesalers and retailers would not.

First handlers and importers who market or import less than 500,000 pounds of mangos annually are exempt from the assessment. Mangos that are exported out of the United States are also exempt from assessment. In addition, domestic producers, foreign producers, wholesalers, and retailers are not subject to assessment under the Order, but such individuals are eligible to serve on the Board along with importers and first handlers.

Section 1206.30 (c) of the Order requires that the Board review the volume and geographical distribution of mango production and imports at least once every five years. If warranted, the Board will recommend to the Department that membership on the Board be altered to reflect any changes in the volume and geographical distribution of mango production and imports.

The Order currently provides for a Board of 20 members including eight importers, one first handler, two domestic producers, seven foreign producers, and two non-voting wholesalers and/or retailers. At its November 16, 2010 meeting, the Board reviewed the volume and geographic distribution of mango production and imports from 2006 through 2009. Based on U.S. Customs data, the volume of mango imports to the U.S. declined from 666,772,761 pounds in 2006 to 627,271,605 pounds in 2009. The Board's eight importer seats are allocated based on the volume of mangos imported into each of the four Districts defined in the Order. The current allocation is two seats for District I, three seats for District II, two seats for District III, and one seat for District IV. The percentage of the total mango import volume imported into District I remained at 25 percent from 2006 to 2009. Imports into District II grew from 35 percent of the total in 2006 to 41 percent in 2009. Imports into District III fell from 28 percent of the total in 2006 to 23 percent in 2009. Imports into District IV fell from 12 percent of the total in 2006 to 11 percent in 2009. Much of the domestic mango production was adversely affected by Hurricanes during the early 2000s. Accordingly, data provided by the Board shows that in 2006, no assessments were collected on domestic mangos, while in 2009 assessments were collected on 1,539,306 pounds of domestic mangos. After reviewing the data regarding mango imports and domestic production, the Board voted to recommend that no changes be made at this time to the number of importer, first handler, domestic producer, or foreign producer seats; or to the allocation of importer seats among the four districts.

At the same meeting, the board voted to request elimination of the wholesaler/retailer positions from the Order. These positions were included so that the board would include members with direct customer sales experience. The Board has made numerous attempts to nominate individuals to those positions; however, wholesalers and retailers are not interested in or do not have the time to serve on the Board. As a result, the two wholesaler/retailer positions have been vacant since 2008. These two positions do not represent assessment payers. If the wholesaler/retailer positions are eliminated, the Board would consist of a total of 18 members including eight importers, one first handler, two domestic producers, and seven foreign producers.

Nominations and appointments to the Board are conducted pursuant to sections 1206.31 and 1206.33 of the Order. Appointments to the Board are made by the Secretary from a slate of nominated candidates. Pursuant to section 1206.31 of the Order, candidates for the importer, first handler, and domestic producer positions are nominated by their peers. Nominations for the foreign producer positions are solicited from foreign mango producer organizations. The Board nominates the wholesaler/retailer members. The Order requires that two nominees be submitted for each vacant position.

In accordance with OMB regulation [5 CFR part 1320], which implements information collection requirements imposed by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.], there are no new requirements contained in this rule. In fact a decrease of .33 hours in the information collection burden for the mango program is expected. The information collection requirements have been previously approved by OMB under OMB control number 0581-0093.

The Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule.

Background

The Order, which became effective November 3, 2004, is authorized under the Act and administered by the Board. The Order provides for a 20-member Board consisting of eight importers, one first handler, two domestic producers, seven foreign producers, and two non-voting wholesalers and/or retailers.

Under the Order, the Board administers a nationally coordinated program of promotion, research, and information designed to strengthen the position of mangos in the marketplace and to develop, maintain, and expand the demand for mangos in the United States. The program is financed by an assessment of 1/2 cent per pound on first handlers and importers who market or import 500,000 pounds or more of mangos annually. Under the Order, first handlers remit assessments directly to the Board, and assessments paid by importers are collected and remitted by the United States Customs Service.

Pursuant to section 1206.30(c) of the Order, at least once in each five-year period, the Board shall review the volume and geographical distribution of mango production and imports and, if warranted, make a recommendation to the Secretary to alter the Board's membership. On November 16, 2010, at its fall meeting, the Board voted to recommend that no changes be made to the importer, first handler, domestic producer, or foreign producer positions, but that the non-voting wholesaler/retailer positions be eliminated. If the wholesaler/retailer positions are eliminated, the Board's membership would be reduced from 20 to 18.

Accordingly, the proposed rule would delete the definition of retailer in section 1206.19 and wholesaler in section 1206.24 and references to wholesalers in sections 1206.31 and 1206.32.

A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to respond to this proposal. Thirty days is deemed appropriate so that the proposed amendments, if adopted, may be implemented before the Board's 2012 term of office, which begins on January 1, 2012. All written comments received in response to this rule by the date specified will be considered prior to finalizing this action.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1206

• Administrative practice and procedure
• Advertising
• Consumer information
• Marketing agreements
• Mango Promotion
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1206 is proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 1206—MANGO PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1206 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411-7425 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.