NAVEL ORANGES GROWN IN ARIZONA AND  DESIGNATED PART OF CALIFORNIA; PROPOSED WEEKLY LEVELS OF VOLUME REGULATION FOR THE 1990-91 SEASON

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Docket No. FV-90-174PR

By notice dated September 6, 1990, the Agricultural Marketing Service of the United States Department of Agriculture invited comments on a proposed rule concerning the marketing of fresh California--Arizona navel oranges. The proposed rule would regulate the quantity of navel oranges that may be shipped to domestic markets, the weekly shipping schedule, and the weekly percentage allocation among districts. The proposed rule also would establish the dates for onset and duration of volume regulation for the 1990--91 navel orange season. 55 Fed. Reg. 36653 (1990).

The notice requested that comments, which may concern alternatives to the particulars of the proposed regulation or the need for the proposed regulation, be filed by October 9, 1990. The notice further requested that commenters provide as much information as possible in support of any suggested alternatives to the proposed regulation.

The United States Department of Justice hereby requests an additional thirty days within which it may submit comments on this proposed rule. The Department will need the additional time to analyze the proposed rule, study the likely impact of the marketing policy of the Navel Orange Administrative Committee, and develop the additional information necessary to formulate and prepare its views on these important subjects. Given the scope of the proposed rule and the desire of USDA to receive supporting information in connection with possible alternatives to the proposal, the requested delay would serve the public interest. Even under the currently proposed shipping schedule, delaying the close of the comment period to November 8, 1990 will allow USDA to consider the views of Department of Justice and other commenters in advance of the schedule's beginning date.

For the above reasons, the Department requests that the deadline to submit comments on the proposed rule relating to regulation of navel oranges be extended to November 8, 1990.

Respectfully submitted,

James F. Rill Assistant Attorney General Alison L. Smith Deputy Assistant Attorney     General

_______________"/s/"_____________ Mark C. Schechter Chief _______________"/s/"_____________ Roger W. Fones Assistant Chief _______________"/s/"_____________ Joan S. Huggler Attorney _______________"/s/"_____________ Alexander Kogan Attorney Transportation, Energy &     Agriculture Section Antitrust Division U.S. Department of Justice 555 Fourth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 307—6456

September 28, 1990