Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of imports of products containing palm oil into the UK.

The Government is not taking steps to reduce the amount of imports of products containing palm oil into the UK as we recognise the versatility of palm oil and that replacing it with other fats and oils may have unintended consequences, as alternatives usually require more land for production. This was also shown in a 2016 World Wide Fund for Nature report. The Government is, though, committed to achieving sustainably sourced palm oil, working with the private sector and non-governmental organisations to create a UK market for sustainably sourced palm oil and reduce the environmental impact of palm oil production overseas.

In 2012, the Government established the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to improve reporting, traceability and understanding of supply chains to ensure continuous improvement and increased use of certified palm oil. Latest figures indicate that the UK’s certified sustainable palm oil rose from 16% in 2010 to 75% in 2017. The UK’s Global Resource Initiative (GRI) builds upon the Government’s work convening commodity-specific roundtables, and will identify actions the UK can take across supply chains to improve sustainability of products, including palm oil, and reduce deforestation.

The UK is also a member of the Amsterdam Declarations Partnership that supports a 100% sustainable palm oil supply chain in Europe, and supports the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) which recently secured the Marrakesh Declaration on palm oil, under which seven countries and major companies have agreed principles for responsible palm oil in the region. We recognise that more remains to be done and will continue to explore opportunities to improve the sustainability of palm oil production.