The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a change to the Florida citrus marketing order. As recommended by the Citrus Administrative Committee, pummelos are now exempt from handling and reporting requirements under the marketing order.
This action reverses a 2016 move by the Florida citrus industry to expand the marketing order and its handling regulations to include pummelos. Pummelo industry representatives will now market their product free from reporting and minimum quality requirements, which had not been established by the committee.
The final rule for this action published in the Federal Register on March 9, 2023.
More information about the marketing order regulating the handling of citrus produced in Florida is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s 905 Florida Citrus webpage.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help producers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS provides oversight to fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop marketing orders to ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
More information about Federal marketing orders is available on the Marketing Orders page of the AMS website or by contacting the Market Development Division at (202) 720-2491.
