A Prune Marketing Committee (herein referred to as the “Committee”), consisting of 22 members with an alternate member for each such member, is hereby established to administer the terms and provisions of this part, of whom with their respective alternates, 14 shall represent producers, 7 shall represent handlers, and 1 shall represent the public. Committee membership shall be allocated in accordance with the following grouping with the alternate positions identically allocated:

(a) Three handler members to represent handlers who are cooperative marketing associations of producers (referred to in this part as “cooperative handlers”);

(b) Three handler members to represent handlers other than cooperative handlers (referred to in this part as “independent handlers”);

(c) One handler member to represent handlers who are cooperative handlers or independent handlers, whichever of such handlers handled as first handlers more than 50 percent of the prunes handled by all handlers during the crop year preceding the year in which nominations are made;

(d) Fourteen producer members to be selected from and to represent producers who are members of cooperative marketing associations (referred to in this part as “cooperative producers”) and producers other than “cooperative producers” (referred to in this part as “independent producers”); the number of the producer members for the cooperative producer group or the independent producer group, as the case may be, shall be in the same proportion, as near as practicable, to the total of 14, as the tonnage of prunes handled by the respective group of cooperative handlers or independent handlers as first handlers during the crop year preceding the year in which nominations are made is to the total tonnage of prunes handled by all handlers as first handlers.

(e) The public member and alternate shall have no financial interest in the prune industry.