Fast hass

Being for the benefit of Mr. Hass

One of the lesser known elements of Title X of the farm bill passed by the House was Section 209. The provision requires the Agriculture Secretary to issue regulations requiring all Hass avocados sold in the U.S. to meet a minimum quality requirement.



Here is how the text reads in HR 2419

SEC. 209. MATURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR HASS AVOCADOS

`(a) Minimum Percentage of Dry Matter- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue final regulations to require that all Hass avocados sold to consumers in the United States meet the minimum maturity standard of not less than 20.8 percent dry matter.
`(b) Exceptions- Subsection (a) and the regulations issued pursuant to such subsection shall not apply to Hass avocados--
`(1) intended for consumption by charitable institutions;
`(2) intended for distribution by relief agencies;
`(3) intended for commercial processing into products; or
`(4) that the Secretary determines should not be subject to such subsection or such regulations.
`(c) Use of Existing Inspectors- The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent practicable, use inspectors that inspect avocados for compliance with section 8e of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608e-1), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to conduct inspections under this section.
`(d) Civil Penalties- The Secretary may require any person who violates this section or the regulations issued pursuant to this section to--
`(1) forfeit to the United States a sum equal to the value of the commodity at the time of violation, which forfeiture shall be recoverable in a civil suit bought in the name of the United States; or
`(2) on conviction, be fined not less than $50 or more than $5,000 for each violation.
`(e) Diversion- In the case of any Hass avocados that do not meet the requirements of this section or the regulations issued pursuant to this section, the Secretary may--
`(1) provide for the reinspection of the Hass avocados; or
`(2) authorized the diversion, export, or repacking of the Hass avocados.
`(f) Fees- The Secretary may prescribe and collect fees to cover the costs of providing for the inspection of Hass avocados under this section. All fees and penalties collected shall be credited to the accounts that incur such costs and shall remain available until expended without fiscal year limitation.
`(g) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.'.



Some observers have pointed out this type of provision has never been done for produce in a farm bill or any federal legislation before. The House farm bill tells all marketers of avocados - outside the context of a marketing order - what the acceptable maturity level of the fruit will be. Imagine if Congress set the minimum sugar level for grapes or apple?


The genesis for the provision came from the California Avocado Commission, or more accurately, California avocado growers.

But one California avocado marketer I talked to today said there is some reassessment of the provision, perhaps because the legislative language has change through the the lawmaking process. Right now the industry may be trying to determine if they should continue to support the provision, the handler said. Part of that possible change of heart relates to the transfer of authority from the state to the federal government. While the law may have been seen as a shortcut to a federal marketing order, growers in California would lose control over the process.


At 23% dry matter standards, both Chile and Mexican hass marketers have higher minimum maturity levels than required by this provision. There doesn't appear to be great need for the provision; one Chilean source told me Chile's hass fruit have never failed to meet California minimum maturity levels in the past, even though 80% of Chile's volume comes into California.


In any case, California hass marketers are happily distracted by hot market conditions. The f.o.b. has risen $4-5 in the last five days and was $2 higher today, the marketer said. A market that wants 20 million pounds a week is only getting 15 million to 16 million pounds. California will have hass through the end of August by volume is on the downhill slide. Chilean volume has been delayed because exporters have held off shipping waiting for better maturity and Mexico is in a supply gap. In the latest week, Mexico accounted for 5 million pounds, with Chile 2 million pounds and California with about 8 million pounds.

Peterson before the recess

Not much news in the Peterson teleconference today, but a few tidbits:

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said that he and his staff will met with Sen. Tom Harkin later today to discuss the farm bill process. Peterson said he hopes that the conference farm bill can be completed by October.

In other news, Peterson noted South Korea shut down U.S. beef exports, and he said current trade friction with South Korea will preclude any work on the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Later in the teleconference, Peterson also advocated a fee for imports on food and other products to ensure their safety. He noted that USDA inspects meat packing plants in other countries before they are approved, and suggested that FDA should do the same.

Peterson also suggested that Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns was out of touch with the farm community relative to the issue of the tax on offshore corporations that provided the offset for farm bill funding.

FYI: Believe it or not, Peterson's rock and roll/country band is playing in Washington tonight. He talks about it toward the end of this audio file.

Grapefruit Countdown

I talked to a Florida grapefruit shipper today who is anxiously awaiting the start of the season. More importantly, he said shippers are nervously wondering when the USDA will issue the final rule on movement of Florida citrus from canker infested regions to noncitrus states.

With harvest starting the third week of September to the first week of October, he said Florida growers need to have clear rules in place.

Without the ability to ship out of state, the start of the season could be a "bloodbath."

Meanwhile, he said South African grapefruit deal is finishing a bit early, which may help export markets in Japan and Europe. No firm handle on Florida's crop yet, but it could be in the same ballpark as last year's crop. It may be a touch larger, he said, but one factor that plays against that expectation is that growers say there may be less "inside fruit," or fruit inside the canopy.

Prices will begin in the teens for Florida grapefruit and eventually may settle at $10-11 per carton for the larger fruit and about $8 per carton for 56s, he said.

FDA retreats on lab closures

The FDA has decided to suspend its earlier decision to close field labs, reports the AP.
From the story:

Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach is awaiting recommendations from a presidential panel about how to better guarantee the safety of imported food and other products.
He said Wednesday he wanted to make sure the FDA was ''doing the right thing and doing it in the right way'' before proceeding.
President Bush established the Import Safety Working Group on July 18 and asked for recommendations in 60 days.
''Once we have the benefit of that information, we can come back again to the more fundamental question of how do we create a field operation that is adapted to and equipped to manage the converging challenges and converging complexities of our ability to ensure the quality of the products that FDA regulates,'' von Eschenbach said.
The panel's creation came on the heels of a spate of recalls of imported food and consumer products, many of them Chinese and regulated by the FDA.
Against that backdrop, the FDA has said it wants to consolidate its lab network to modernize its food safety efforts. Lawmakers, some lab employees and the union that represents much of the FDA work force believe that idea would make matters worse.
In a letter sent von Eschenbach on Tuesday, Democratic Reps. John Dingell and Bart Stupak of Michigan asked if the purpose of the lab closures was to privatize the testing of imported foods. They cited a pilot program to assess doing just that.
Von Eschenbach denied that the closures were part of an outsourcing plan. Later, however, he said the agency would consider certifying or credentialing private labs to do some testing work. He further suggested the FDA could collaborate more with Customs and Border Protection and the states in policing imports.
Von Eschenbach said Congress' failure to agree on FDA legislation before the summer recess would not lead to layoffs at the agency as long as the measure made it to Bush before late September.

TK: Some lobbyists are surprised there has not been more substantial progress on changes to the food safety system in this session of Congress. With the legislative calendar winding down, we have still not seen Sen. Tom Harkin's food safety bill, and food safety developments in the House are more related to the appropriations process. Maybe next year.