USDA PROPOSES TO INCREASE PORK IMPORTER ASSESSMENTS

USDA PROPOSES TO INCREASE PORK IMPORTER ASSESSMENTS    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed to increase its assessment on imported pork products by seven-hundredths to one-tenth of a cent per pound to reflect the average price of domestic pork.
   Revenue from these assessments help to pay for the USDA’s Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information program, established by law in 1985.
   The average annual market price for pork increased from $31.46 per hundredweight in 1999 to $42.70 per hundredweight in 2000, an increase of about 36 percent. “The proposed increase in assessment amounts would result in an estimated $713,000 increase in assessments over a 12-month period,” the USDA said.
   The USDA will take comments about the increased assessment on imported pork through September 12. For more information, contact Ralph L. Tapp, chief of USDA’s Marketing Programs Branch, at (202)720-1115.