Act of 1933, as amended, as reenacted and amended by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended, and as amended by the Agricultural Act of 1961, is amended by inserting in the first sentence thereof between "tomatoes" and "avocados," the following: "raisins".

[H.R. 11531, 91st Cong., first sess.]

A BILL To amend section 8e of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, as amended, as reenacted and amended by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended, and as amended by the Agricultural Act of 1961, so as to provide for the extension of the restrictions on imported commodities imposed by such section to imported raisins and prunes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 8e of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, as amended, as reenacted and amended by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended, and as amended by the Agricultural Act of 1961, is amended by inserting in the first sentence thereof between "tomatoes" and "avocados," the following: "raisins, prunes,”.

Mr. FOLEY. The subcommittee will hear witnesses from the witness list who may address themselves to any of these bills under consideration by the subcommittee.

The first witness is the Honorable Charles Gubser of California, sponsor of H.R. 11531. Mr. Gubser, it is a pleasure to welcome you before the subcommittee.

STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES S. GUBSER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Mr. GUBSER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

As you know, I am the author of H.R. 11531 which is identical to the Sisk bill with the exception that the word "prunes" has been added. I introduced this bill at the request of the Dried Fruit Association of California and since introducing it, I have received word from Mr. Al Thorpe, the executive vice president of the Dried Fruit Association, requesting that instead of inserting the word "prunes," that we use instead the words "dried prunes and prune products."

The reason for this as explained by Mr. Thorpe is, and I quote him: Currently there are no U.S. standards for certain prune products such as pitted prunes, prune paste, and so forth. There may be at some future time and such an addition to the language may take care of such future contingencies.

So, Mr. Chairman, if the committee should be inclined to consider my bill, either as an addition to other bills introduced or on its own, I would respectfully request consideration of the insertion of those words in lieu of the word "prunes."

Mr. Chairman, I do not intend to impose upon the committee's time. Very briefly, all my bill would do would be to require that imported prunes meet the same quality and health standards as those required of the domestic industry. It will assure the American consumer of getting almost the same quality and health protection on imported prunes as he gets on dried prunes produced within the State of California or elsewhere in the United States.

I might point out, Mr. Chairman, that the specialty crops of the west coast are in very serious economic straits at the present time. Prices received by farmers have actually gone down in the past decade and, of course, you all know what has happened to prices

paid by farmers. And the only reason that they have been able to compete in the world market has been their fantastic yields and their advanced productive techniques which include modernization and mechanization, and I think they have done very well to survive as long as they have. But this is reaching a point of diminishing returns in the specialty crop industry, particularly the fruit industry, so we have a very serious situation.

I think the west coast pays the highest agricultural wages in the Nation. It absorbs sometimes what I think are discriminatory freight rates in getting its products to the principal market centers. We don't want to do away with foreign competition, we accept it, but we do feel that the standards imposed upon us by domestic law should also be the standards that are met by offshore foreign producers.

Mr. Chairman, the Dried Fruit Association has sent me a statement of position by the association, on my bill, H.R. 11531, and I would ask, Mr. Chairman, that that statement be placed in the record at this point and I would like to associate myself in complete and absolute sense with the statement as submitted by the Dried Fruit Association.

Mr. FOLEY. Without objection, so ordered.

(The statement referred to follows:)

STATEMENT OF DFA OF CALIFORNIA, AN ASSOCIATION OF DRIED FRUIT AND TREE NUT PROCESSORS

INTRODUCTION

The DFA of California, formerly known as the "Dried Fruit Association of California," is a non-profit trade association representing dried fruit and tree nut processors. Membership is voluntary and is composed of grower cooperatives, growers engaged in the processing of their own crops, and commercial packers. Members of DFA of California handle more than 95% of all dried fruits and tree nuts produced in California which has a total annual production of 633,800 tons and a farm value of $256,360,000. Services of DFA of California to its membership, the industry, and the public are primarily of a technical nature.

PRODUCT STANDARDIZATION

DFA of California, in cooperation with producers, developed uniform practices in establishing dried fruit and tree nut standards including moisture content, quality, and grades. The organization works regularly with industry and government in maintaining up-to-date product standardization. DFA of California assists industry in developing improved storage and handling methods, and in dealing with special seasonal hazards.

RESEARCH

In cooperation with other industry organizations, the DFA of California has sponsored and directed both basic and applied research programs. Such research being carried on at the Western Utilization Research Laboratory (U.S.D.A.) in Albany, California, the University of California at Davis, California, and the Stored-Product Insects Laboratory (U.S.D.A.) in Fresno. The DFA of California maintains laboratories in San Jose and in Fresno, California. All research is directed towards improved quality of our products. Industry funds are used to promote research in both government and private laboratories.

The DFA of California has recently expanded its laboratory facilities to include equipment to detect pesticide residues on crops received from primary sources. Programs are being developed to assure that all dried fruits and tree nuts shipped to the consumer are in full compliance with the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as Amended.

INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION

In order to assure the consumer of a sound, clean and edible product of high quality, the industry maintains a mandatory inspection system for all of its

products, on both deliveries from grower to processor, and after processing for shipment to the trade. California figs have a quality control program under the the California Marketing Act. California raisins, dates, prunes, walnuts and almonds maintain quality standards under Federal Marketing Orders. Evaporated apples, apricots, peaches and pears maintain an inspection and quality control program under a voluntary contractual arrangement with the DFA of California. As a good example of the meticulous care and high standards used in the production and processing of the product, we respectfully refer the Committee to "Dried Prune Order No. 993, as Amended." Even a cursory perusal of this document will indicate the rigid and painstaking requirements imposed by industry upon its own operations to control the quality of the product.

1

PLANT SANITATION

Under the organization's Consumer protection responsibilities, the DFA maintains a thorough program of plant sanitation. All plants are inspected regularly for sanitary deficiencies to assure that all dried fruits and tree nuts are processed under the highest possible sanitary conditions. Few food industries have such an elaborate program of self-policing, not simply to comply with the provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but to assure the consumer of a high quality product, produced under the most optimum conditions of cleanliness.

FOREIGN COMPETITION

Members of the DFA of California have consistently supported reciprocal trade and over the years has taken an active part in the formation of U.S. policy under the General Agreements of Tariffs and Trade.

We are therefore as an organization, not opposed to foreign competition, provided such competition is on a fair and equitable basis, and provided dried fruit and tree nut products imported from foreign countries of origin meet the same high standards of quality and sanitation that the domestic industry imposes upon its own products.

A MATTER OF EQUITY

H.R. 11531, introduced by Representative Gubser of California does no more than require that imported prunes meet the same quality standards as those set by the domestic industry. It will assure the American consumer of getting almost the same quality protection as dried prunes produced in California.

We purposely inserted the word "almost" for we would remind the Committee that even with the adoption of this legislation, dried fruits and tree nuts imported from abroad will still retain a decided competitive advantage because of immunity from certain sections of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Specifically, we refer to Section 402(a)(3) of said act which requires that the product be clean, but even more specifically to Section 402 (a) (4) which requires that the plant in which the product is processed be maintained in a sanitary condition. While foreign food products must comply with 402(a) (3), there is just no practical way so far developed whereby the product must comply with Section 402 (a)(4) of the Act.

The DFA of California strongly supports the Gubser Bill H.R. 11531.

SUMMATION

1. The DFA of California is a non-profit trade association representing processors of 95% of California's dried fruit and tree nut production. Annual production of these products totals 633,800 tons with a farm value of $256,360,000.

2. California's dried fruit and tree nut industries have set high standards of quality and sanitation for their own products through State, Federal and voluntary programs.

3. Continuous inspection of the product delivered by the grower to the processor, and after processing before shipment to the consumer, is part of the industry's consumer protection policy.

4. California's dried fruit and tree nut plants are regularly inspected by DFA of California registered sanitarians.

5. Foreign competition per se is not objectionable or opposed, but foreign produced products should meet American standards of quality and cleanliness. 1 Federal Register Aug. 6, 1965, (30 F.R. 9797):

6. DFA of California strongly endorses and supports H.R. 11531 introduced by Representative Charles S. Gubser of California.

Mr. GUBSER. I would be happy to answer any questions.

Mr. FOLEY. Thank you. Mr. Vigorito?

Mr. VIGORITO. No questions.

Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Sisk?

Mr. SISK. Mr. Chairman, no questions, except to commend my colleague and, of course, join with him. I recognize the problems in connection with prunes as we are having the same problems in raisins and olives and other commodities and I appreciate very much the support of my colleague from California.

Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Jones?

Mr. JONES. No questions.

Mr. FOLEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Gubser. We appreciate your appearance before us.

Mr. GUBSER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. FOLEY. The Chair will call the next witness out of sequence and call Mr. Dick Markarian, the chairman of the California Raisin Advisory Board of Fresno, Calif. Mr. Markarian.

Mr. ŠISK. Mr. Chairman, before Mr. Markarian is recognized, if I may make a brief comment. Mr. Markarian is from my district. He is a very valued constituent of mine, a very able producer, farmer, in our area, and I want to say, Mr. Chairman, that he is among the most knowledgeable people in connection with some of the problems that we have in specialty crops, fruits, and vegetables and some of the problems we have in connection with marketing in Fresno. I am happy to welcome him to the committee.

Mr. FOLEY. It is a pleasure to welcome you.

STATEMENT OF DICK MARKARIAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE CALIFORNIA RAISIN ADVISORY BOARD OF FRESNO, CALIF.

Mr. MARKARIAN. I thank you, Congressman Sisk, for those kind remarks. I hope I can live up to the reputation you just created. Mr. Chairman, honorable members of the Domestic Marketing and Consumer Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee, my oral statement here will be supplementary to a written statement that I will have on file with your committee. It covers the same area but there will be some departures.

I want to say at the outset I concur with the remarks made by Congressman Gubser as to the economic conditions of the specialty crops on the west coast and I applaud the statement that he just made. My name is Dick Markarian. I am a raisin grower in Fresno, California, and I have been a raisin producer all of my adult life. Annually we produce about 250,000 tons of raisins in the San Joaquin Valley. This is all of the raisins produced in the United States, and about 50 percent of the total world production. Eighty-five percent of this tonnage comes from Congressman B.F. Sisk's District and the balance comes from the District of Congressman Harold T. Johnson and Congressman Bob Mathias.

The raisin industry consists of about 6,000 growers and 22 processors. The average raisin farm is a relatively small farm, approximately 30 acres. The raisin industry contributes about $100 million to the agricultural economy of the United States.

I am here today, as Congressman Sisk told you, as Chairman of the California Raisin Advisory Board. I have held that position for six years and I have been a member of that Board for 14 years. I am also Chairman of the Dried Fruit Industry Research Committee. This committee has been in existence for 13 years and I have been Chairman of that committee for ten years. So, I am very familiar with the remarks made by Congressman Gubser because some of these things have been discussed before our committee.

I am also a member of the Federal Raisin Advisory Board and the Raisin Administrative Committee. The Chairman of that committee is here and I am sure that he will speak on behalf of that particular committee.

All of these positions have a couple of things in common. First of all, they are elected by all of the members of the industry, and secondly, unfortunately, none of them carry a salary. All of these organizations have as their purpose the solving of problems of production and marketing in order to enhance the consumer acceptability of our product. Each of these organizations supports H.R. 2387, coauthored by Congressman B. F. Sisk and Congressman Harold Johnson. The objective of this bill simply stated is to require foreign-produced raisins imported into the United States, to meet the same quality standards as those produced domestically. This objective is defensible in my opinion, both on the basis of equity to the producer and protection of the consumer.

Even with the enactment of this legislation the foreign producer will still have an advantage over the domestic producer. The foreign producers can clean up a contaminated product by control processing to meet the incoming standards of the Food and Drug Administration, whereas the domestic producer not only has to meet these Food and Drug Administration sanitation standards on a finished product but also is subject to the same scrutiny and requirements on plant and environment under which the crop is produced. In other words, the domestic crop is under constant surveillance whereas the crop that has been or the product that is imported is under intermittent surveillance.

All raisins produced in the United States are under continuous U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection. First, the raw product is inspected when it is delivered to the processor and if it does not meet the minimum standards of wholesomeness, cleanliness, and maturity, the lot is rejected at that particular point. This same criteria with higher standard is applied to every lot of a processing and before it can be shipped to the consumer.

All of the cost of this inspection is borne by the industry through assessments. The annual cost of the industry for this inspection is approximately $1 million. This is a voluntary program on the part of the industry and is not imposed by law. It goes beyond the standards of the Food and Drug Administration and they were instituted in order to give the consumer a better product.

The result of all of this inspection is that the product produced in the United States is without a question of doubt the most wholesome, the cleanest, and the highest quality produced anywhere in the world.

The question arises if the domestic-produced raisins are more wholesome and they are cleaner, why should anyone then want to purchase the imported product? The answer to this is relatively simple-price.