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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of palm oil production on wildlife and the environment in palm oil producing countries; and if he will make a statement.

In 2006, Defra published a study into the environmental impacts of a number of commodities, including palm oil.

In 2012, Defra published the UK Statement on the Sustainable Production of Palm Oil which was signed by trade associations, NGOs and Government, and aimed to achieve 100% sourcing of credibly certified sustainable palm oil. The final report in February 2017 reported that by 2015 either 87% or 108% of UK palm oil imports were supported by Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification, depending on the trade data source used.

Defra is committed to supporting implementation of deforestation free supply chains for key commodities, including palm oil. We are signatory to the Amsterdam Declarations, have endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests and are a member of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020.