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

The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule limiting the volume of small red seedless grapefruit entering the fresh market under the marketing order covering oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida. The marketing order is administered locally by the Citrus Administrative Committee (committee). This rule continues to limit the volume of sizes 48 and/or size 56 red seedless grapefruit handlers can ship during the remainder of the first 11 weeks of the 1999-2000 season. Through week 7, which ended November 7, the percentage was 37 percent. For the last four weeks (November 8 through December 5), the percentage is 32 percent. This limitation is designed to provide a sufficient supply of small sized red seedless grapefruit to meet market demand, without saturating all markets with these small sizes. This rule should help stabilize the grapefruit market and improve grower returns.