The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today an interim rule to relax the substandard and maturity dockage requirements in the handling regulations of the California raisins federal marketing order.
For the 2023-2024 crop year, the rule relaxes the allowable maximum percentage of substandard fruit in producer deliveries that can be acquired under the dockage system from 17% to 21% for Natural (sun-dried) Seedless, Golden Seedless, Dipped Seedless, Monukka, and Other Seedless raisins, and from 20% to 25% for Muscat (including other raisins with seeds), Sultana, and Zante Currant raisins.
The change benefits raisin producers and marketers by managing the availability of raisins placed in commercial channels by establishing the minimum allowable level for maturity in lots of raisins delivered by producers that can be acquired under the dockage system from 35% to 30%. In correlation with the relaxation in the minimum allowable maturity percentage, the rule sets the maturity dockage factors for lots scoring between 30% to 35% be increased from 0.0015 to 0.002 for every 0.1 percent decrease in maturity.
The rule is intended to respond to the effects of unfavorable weather on raisin production across the industry and was recommended by the Raisin Administrative Committee. Relaxing the requirements for the 2023-2024 crop year will reduce the number of lots of raisins that must be returned by handlers to producers or that must be reconditioned by handlers at the producers’ expense. This will minimize producers’ reconditioning costs and aid with their 2023 crop deliveries.
The interim rule for this action was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 11, 2023. Comments are due by Feb. 9, 2024.
More information about the marketing order is available on the 989 CA Raisins webpage, the AMS Marketing Orders and Agreements webpage, or by contacting the Market Development Division at (202) 720-8085.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help fruit, vegetable and specialty crop producers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS oversees fruit, vegetable and specialty crop marketing orders and agreements, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
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