Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida; Limiting the Volume of Small Florida Red Seedless Grapefruit

This interim final rule amends a prior interim final rule that limited the volume of small red seedless grapefruit entering the fresh market under the Florida citrus marketing order. The marketing order regulates the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida and is administered locally by the Citrus Administrative Committee (committee). The prior interim final rule limited the volume of size 48 and/or size 56 red seedless grapefruit handlers could ship during the first 11 weeks of the 1997-1998 season that began in September. This rule changes the weekly percentages for the last five weeks of the regulatory period from 30 percent to 35 percent. These revisions will provide a sufficient supply of small sized red seedless grapefruit to meet market demand, without saturating all markets with these small sizes. This rule is necessary to help stabilize the market and improve grower returns.