AMS Proposes to Remove Section 8e Grade Requirements for Onions Imported in Spring
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to remove Section 8e size, grade, quality and maturity requirements for onions imported during the spring season, it said in a proposed rule issued Aug. 5. The agency says domestic onion producers in South Texas failed to support a marketing order for onions grown in the region in a recently held referendum. “USDA believes termination of this program would be appropriate as the Order is no longer favored by industry producers,” it said. Comments are due Oct. 4.
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Under Section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, “when certain domestically produced commodities, including onions, are regulated under a Federal marketing order, imports of that commodity must meet the same or comparable grade, size, quality, and maturity requirements,” AMS said. “Because this proposed rule would terminate regulations for domestically produced onions, a corresponding change to the imported regulations would also be required.”
Currently, requirements under the South Texas onion marketing order apply to onions, except for pearl or cipolline onions, imported March 10 through June 4 of every year. If the AMS proposal is finalized, those grade, size, quality and maturity requirements would be eliminated. Onions imported June 5 through March 9 of each marketing year, and cipolline and pearl onions imported during the entire marketing year, would remain subject to Section 8e grade, size, quality and maturity requirements under a marketing order on onions from Idaho and Oregon, AMS said.