The U.S. Department of Agriculture issues temporary relaxation of substandard and maturity dockage requirements for the 2023-2024 crop year for California raisins

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today an interim rule to relax the substandard and maturity dockage requirements in the handling regulations of the California raisins federal marketing order. For the 2023-2024 crop year, the rule relaxes the allowable maximum percentage of substandard fruit in producer deliveries that can be acquired under the dockage system from 17% to 21% for Natural (sun-dried) Seedless, Golden Seedless, Dipped Seedless, Monukka, and Other Seedless raisins, and from 20% to 25% for Muscat (including other raisins with seeds), Sultana, and Zante Currant raisins. The change benefits raisin producers and marketers by managing the availability of raisins placed in commercial channels by establishing the minimum allowable level for maturity in lots of raisins delivered by producers that can be acquired under the dockage system from 35% to 30%. In correlation with the relaxation in the minimum allowable maturity percentage, the rule sets the ...