Imports supplement domestic production and ensure any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease do not affect the UK's overall security of food supply. The UK agricultural sector is highly resilient and adaptable and operates in an open market where the value of commodities is established by those in the supply chain.

For cereals crops produced domestically, including wheat, barley, oats, and oil seed, the UK has continuously been over 80% self-sufficient in domestic production for the past 20 years. In 2023, estimates indicate 76% of the crop-derived bioethanol for road transport originated from crops grown outside the UK. An estimated 24% originated from crops grown in the UK, which was mainly made up of bioethanol derived from UK-grown wheat.

From recent UK supply and demand estimates produced by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, data suggests a competitive demand for domestic feed grains has been offsetting maize imports.

Defra does not maintain any estimates of expected levels of imports over the coming years. The level of imports will vary from year to year depending on market needs and disruption to domestic production.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) provides information on dietary intakes of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and blood markers of nutritional status for adults and children. The UK Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition has conducted risk assessments on the adequacy of specific micronutrients in the UK diet and made recommendations.

Defra's genetic improvement network initiative supports breeding research which identifies beneficial genetic traits to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience of UK crops including wheat varieties and oilseed rape. No research has been undertaken on micronutrients.

Defra engages regularly with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) on a range of agricultural matters. However, these discussions have not included the consideration of micronutrient content in relation to the Recommended List of cereal and oilseed varieties.

The details requested for imports of oilseed rape dated back to 2013 can be seen in the below table. These are published annually by Government in Agriculture in the United Kingdom, the data set can be found under Table 7.5 Oilseed rape production, value, supply and use.

Units 1,000 tonnes

Oilseeds are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to respond to market developments, suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy including pest and disease management.

Together with the devolved administrations, Defra has established the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) to monitor and assess the impact of market developments across the UK. It monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

The consultation on the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides outlines how the Government will support the development of nature-based solutions, low toxicity methods, and biopesticides, in line with the principles of Integrated Pest Management.

In partnership with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Defra is funding field trials for Integrated Pest Management in oilseed rape.

Defra also supports research on the genetic improvement of rapeseed to increase resilience to pests.

The Oilseed rape area increased from 269 thousand hectares in 1984, reaching a peak of 756 thousand hectares in 2012. Since then the area has decreased each year (apart from 2018 when an increase to 583 thousand hectares was seen). The provisional figure for 2020 shows a further decrease to 388 thousand hectares.

Total area planted for Oilseed rape in hectares for the last ten years

*2020 figure is current estimate based on Defra survey

Total Oilseed rape imports over the same period are shown below

Total other Oilseed (excl Rape but including Soya, Nut, Sunflower, Linseed) imports over the same period are shown below

The issue of the impact of oilseed rape on health, specifically in relation to allergies, is kept under review by Defra. Based on the scientific evidence currently available, there would be no justification for regulating the planting and growing of oilseed rape. Defra is responsible for certain legislation that protects human health, including but not limited to air quality legislation and statutory nuisance provisions, however, these do not specifically contain protections from oilseed rape.

Oilseed rape is a valuable crop for farmers and there is a greater risk of crop loss due to cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) since the restrictions on neonicotinoids came into force in 2014. Some growers have been heavily affected while others have not experienced similar problems. Defra has monitored the incidence of CSFB on untreated oilseed rape through the Crop Pest and Disease Survey. In autumn 2019, average numbers of CSFB were higher than levels before the ban on use of neonicotinoid insecticides. Out of 82 sites assessed, however, only eight had levels that exceeded the recommended threshold for spray application. Six of these eight sites were in the East of England.

The Government supports restrictions on neonicotinoids because the clear advice from scientific experts is that these seed treatments should not be used on flowering crops, such as oilseed rape. There is clear evidence on the toxicity of neonicotinoids to bees and their persistence in the environment. We are not prepared to put our pollinator populations at risk and so we will maintain the current restrictions on use of the three neonicotinoids when the transition period ends. We will only take a different position if the scientific evidence changes.

The Government supports a major, long-term research platform for Crop Genetic Improvement. This includes OREGIN, which is a dedicated programme on oilseed rape breeding to improve the resource use efficiency, sustainability and resilience of the crop. The research is carried out in close partnership with growers and breeders and determines beneficial traits to be included in breeding programmes to offer improved resistance to priority pests and diseases. The work is helping to reduce reliance on agrochemical inputs and also improve the overall resilience of crops.

There is no record of discussions with representatives of the agricultural or retail sectors to discuss the decline in oilseed rape harvests specifically. Defra continues to support the improvement of oilseed rape through its Oilseed Rape Genetic Improvement Network (OREGIN). This network is dedicated to the development of new pre-breeding material with key resilience traits such as resistance to fungal pathogens, improved nutrient uptake efficiency, rooting and establishment as well as improved quality traits

There are five pesticide active substances that are classed as neonicotinoids. Three of these are subject to EU restrictions which mean that they may not be used on oilseed rape, irrespective of the method of application. The remaining two active substances (acetamiprid and thiacloprid) are not subject to these restrictions and so may be used on oilseed rape. There are UK products which contain these two active substances and are authorised for use on oilseed rape. All of these are formulated as sprays. There is no prohibition preventing acetamiprid and thiacloprid from being formulated as seed treatments for use on oilseed rape. No such products are currently authorised in the UK; if applications were to be received, they would be authorised if they met the normal requirements for safety to people and to the environment.

The Government is aware that a high level of erucic acid has been detected in some oilseed rape deliveries to crushing plants over the past year. The Government is working with the industry to understand the cause of the problem. A survey is being carried out by the supply chain to capture data on the seed used as well as the crop production, harvest and storage methods. This information will be independently analysed by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

Maximum permitted levels for erucic acid in products entering the food chain are set under EU Commission Regulation No 1881/2006 (as amended) setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs. Local authority enforcement officers undertake routine monitoring to check compliance with the legislation.

The report by 38 Degrees questions the need for neonicotinoids to protect oilseed rape and argues that no emergency authorisation for this use of neonicotinoids should be granted in 2016.

Emergency authorisation is a procedure set out in law. All applications for emergency authorisation in the UK, including those for neonicotinoids, are decided according to the criteria in the legislation following an expert assessment of the scientific data. Two recent applications were assessed on that basis and were found not to meet the criteria for authorisation.

The Government issued emergency authorisations in 2015 for the limited and controlled use of neonicotinoid seed treatments on oilseed rape. One of the conditions attached to these authorisations was that the authorisation holder should use the authorised area to generate data on both treated and untreated crops. This should include impact on adult and larval numbers, crop establishment/damage and effects on crop yields, resistance occurrence and management.

This work has been taken forward by ADAS on behalf of the National Farmers’ Union. Their interim evidence (excluding the crop yield data which will not be available until after this year’s harvest) formed part of the evidence considered by the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides in respect of the 2016 applications and will be reflected in their detailed record of the discussion at their 4 May meeting. The report will not be finalised until yield data is available after harvest.

Both emergency authorisations expired on 20 November 2015.

The Commission has begun a review of the science relating to neonicotinoids and bees. This will include effects on bees from seed treatment and granule uses of the restricted neonicotinoids on any crop. The Government will contribute fully to this review and will base its view on future regulation of neonicotinoids on all the available scientific evidence. We are aware that there have been a number of new studies since 2013. Initial results from a large field trial being carried out by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology to look at honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees are expected later this year.

The UK Expert Committee on Pesticides has the task of advising Ministers on issues relating to the authorisation of pesticides. It considered recent research on neonicotinoids and pollinators, including the recent report by Rundlöf et al, at its May 2015 meeting. The detailed record of the meeting states that the Committee “agreed that this was a complex and evolving issue that required careful judgement, based on a weight of evidence approach”. The Committee agreed to come back to the issue regularly at future meetings.

The decision was taken on 21 July and was communicated to the applicant on 22 July. Details of pesticide authorisations issued are placed on the Health and Safety Executive website. These authorisations were issued to the National Farmers’ Union on 24 July and were placed on the website on the same day.

Directive 2009/128/EC requires Member States to promote low pesticide-input pest management. To this end, the Directive sets out a number of general principles of integrated pest management, including crop rotation. Crop rotation is a normal farming management practice. Changes to rotations cannot normally be made rapidly.

The recent emergency authorisations for use of two neonicotinoid seed treatments were granted following expert advice that this use was limited and controlled, was subject to stewardship arrangements, and was necessary because of a danger which could not be contained by any other reasonable means. In reaching this view, experts considered non-chemical means of control, including crop rotation. The conditions of authorisation include a requirement that treated seed can only be used in a given field on the basis of a recommendation from a qualified agronomist.

The oilseed rape harvest in 2014 saw an increase in UK production of 16% to nearly 2.5 million tonnes following favourable weather conditions during the 2013/14 growing season. This higher production reflects an increase in yield of oilseed rape by 23%. The area sown to oilseed rape in 2014 was 675 thousand hectares, which was nearly 6% lower than that sown in 2013. Full details can be found in the Farming Statistics release which was published on 18 December 2014 on the Defra website.

A recent survey carried out by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Cereals and Oilseeds team indicates that the area sown to oilseed rape in Great Britain in 2015 has fallen to 627 thousand hectares. Provisional production estimates for the 2015 harvest will be published by Defra in October.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 July 2015, PQ UIN 5754.