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Written question asked by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 27 February 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 March 2019 (named day). It was answered by Baroness Coffey (Conservative) on Monday, 4 March 2019 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.


Palm Oil

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the sustainability of palm oil production; and if he will make a statement.

Answer

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to support and protect the world’s forests, supporting sustainable agriculture and zero-deforestation supply chains, including for palm oil.

The market for sustainable palm oil is dominated by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and so ’sustainable’ in this context is commonly understood to mean products certified to RSPO standards and criteria.

The UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil convened by the UK Government is working to improve reporting, traceability and understanding of supply chains to ensure continuous improvement and increased use of certified palm oil. The UK monitors the proportion of certified sustainable palm oil imported to the UK. The latest annual report from the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil indicates that the UK achieved 75% certified sustainable palm oil in 2017.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
226537
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Production Palm oil
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk