Importation of Fresh Blueberry Fruit From Morocco Into the Continental United States

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the regulations concerning the importation of fruits and vegetables to allow the importation of fresh blueberry fruit from Morocco into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the blueberries would have to be produced under a systems approach employing a combination of mitigation measures for two quarantine pests, Ceratitis capitata and Monilinia fructigena, and would have to be inspected prior to exportation from Morocco and found free of these pests. The blueberries would have to be imported in commercial consignments only and would have to be treated with one of two approved postharvest treatments to mitigate the risk of C. capitata. The blueberries would also have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the conditions for importation have been met. This action would allow the importation of blueberries from Morocco while continuing to protect against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 3, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

* Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0016-0001.

* Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2013-0016, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0016 or in our reading room, which is located in Room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dorothy Wayson, Senior Regulatory Policy Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in "Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables" (7 CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-62, referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world to prevent the introduction and dissemination of plant pests that are new to or not widely distributed within the United States.

The national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Morocco has requested that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) amend the regulations to allow fresh blueberry fruit from Morocco to be imported into the continental United States.

As part of our evaluation of Morocco's request, we prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA), titled "Importation of Fresh Fruit of Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus) and its hybrid varieties Southern Highbush Blueberry [ V. corymbosum x angustifolium (V. x atlanticum) and V. corymbosum x virgatum ] into the Continental United States from Morocco" (March 2012). The PRA evaluated the risks associated with the importation of blueberries into the continental United States from Morocco.

The PRA identified two pests of quarantine significance present in Morocco that could be introduced into the United States through the importation of blueberries: Ceratitis capitata, the Meditterranean fruit fly, and Monilinia fructigena Honey ex Whetzel, a fungus.

According to our PRA, both pests are rated high risk. Pests with high pest risk potential generally require measures in addition to inspection at the port of entry to mitigate risk. To recommend specific measures to mitigate the risk posed by the pests identified in the PRA, we prepared a risk management document (RMD). Copies of the PRA and RMD may be obtained from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov).

Based on the recommendations of the RMD, we are proposing to allow the importation of blueberries from Morocco into the continental United States only if they are produced in accordance with a systems approach. The systems approach we are proposing would require that blueberries be imported only under the conditions described below. These conditions would be added to the regulations in a new SEC 319.56-63.

Proposed paragraph (a) of SEC 319.56-63 would state that blueberries from Morocco may be imported in commercial consignments only. Produce grown commercially is less likely to be infested with plant pests than noncommercial shipments. Noncommercial shipments are more prone to infestations because the commodity is often ripe to overripe, could be of a variety with unknown susceptibility to pests, and is often grown with little or no pest control. Commercial consignments, as defined in SEC 319.56-2, are consignments that an inspector identifies as having been imported for sale and distribution. Such identification is based on a variety of indicators, including, but not limited to: Quantity of produce, type of packaging, identification of grower or packinghouse on the packaging, and documents consigning the fruits or vegetables to a wholesaler or retailer.

Paragraph (b) would require blueberries to be grown at places of production that are registered with the NPPO of Morocco. Registering places of production would allow APHIS and the NPPO of Morocco to trace back consignments of blueberries to the orchard of origin if a pest or disease of concern is detected after harvest.

M. fructigena is the most common cause of fruit rot in the fruit orchards in Europe and Asia, causing characteristic brown rot symptoms that can easily be identified during visual inspections. Therefore, paragraph (c) would require that, 30 days prior to harvest, blueberries be inspected in the field by the NPPO of Morocco for signs of M. fructigena infestation. If the fungal disease is detected, the NPPO of Morocco would have to notify APHIS, at which point APHIS will prohibit the importation of blueberries into the continental United States from the place of production for the remainder of the season. The place of production may resume shipments of blueberries to the United States in the next growing season if an investigation is conducted and APHIS and the NPPO of Morocco agree that appropriate remedial actions have been taken.

C. capitata produce oviposition scars in blueberries, but eggs are laid below the skin of the fruit and larvae are internal feeders; therefore, infested fruit may be overlooked during inspection. Thus, additional safeguards beyond field and packinghouse inspections would be necessary to prevent the pest from being introduced into the United States. The RMD discusses the use of two treatments to reduce the risk of C. capitata from blueberries from Morocco: Fumigation with methyl bromide according to treatment schedule T101-i-1-1 or cold treatment according to treatment schedule T107-a. Both are approved APHIS treatments for C. capitata in blueberries.

Accordingly, paragraph (d) would require that each consignment of blueberries be treated in accordance with 7 CFR part 305 for C. capitata with one of the two above-mentioned treatment methods. Within part 305, SEC 305.2 provides that approved treatment schedules are set out in the Plant Protection and Quarantine Treatment Manual, found online at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/treatment.pdf. Treatments would also be conducted in accordance with the other requirements of part 305.

Paragraph (e) of SEC 319.56-63 would require each consignment of blueberries imported from Morocco into the continental United States to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of Morocco with an additional declaration stating that the requirements of SEC 319.56-63 have been met and the consignment has been inspected and found free of M. fructigena.

Under the general conditions for the importation of fruits and vegetables in SEC 319.56-3, each consignment of blueberries would be subject to further inspection at the port of entry into the United States.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed 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 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 by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or on the Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov).

Morocco expects to export 360,000 pounds of fresh blueberries to the continental United States annually. This quantity is equivalent to about one-tenth of 1 percent of U.S fresh blueberry supply, 2007-2011. Morocco is expected to export fresh blueberries to the continental United States in July and August. The U.S. blueberry season is from April to August. Even though the two seasons overlap and most, if not all, fresh blueberry producers in the United States are small entities, the relatively small quantity expected to be imported from Morocco would not significantly affect the U.S. market or prices.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12988

--This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below--

Proposed rule.

CFR Part: "7 CFR Part 319"

RIN Number: "RIN 0579-AD81"

Citation: "78 FR 79634"

Document Number: "Docket No. APHIS-2013-0016"

Federal Register Page Number: "79634"

"Proposed Rules"