Dried Prunes Produced in California; Increased Assessment Rate

This rule increases the current assessment rate from $2.16 to $3.28 per ton of salable dried prunes for the Prune Marketing Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No. 993 for the 1998-99 and subsequent crop years. The Committee is responsible for local administration of the marketing order which regulates the handling of dried prunes grown in California. Authorization to assess dried prune handlers enables the Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The increased assessment rate is needed because the assessable tonnage is expected to be 99,750 salable tons, or 38 percent less than the Committee's initial estimate for 1998-99. Increasing the assessment rate to $3.28 per ton of salable dried prunes will allow the Committee to meet its 1998-99 expenses and to operate for the first three months of the 1999-2000 crop year before monies become available from that year's assessments. The higher assessment rate applies to the entire 1998-99 crop year, which began August 1 and ends July 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.