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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent international discussions he has had on the sustainable (a) supply and (b) use of palm oil; and if he will make a statement.

Officials of the Department attended a regular meeting of the Amsterdam Declaration Partnership in October last year to discuss its coordination and delivery. Through the Amsterdam Declarations we are working with businesses and other governments to strengthen governance, promote market-based solutions and put in place incentives, policies and actions that support sustainable production of palm oil alongside forest protection.

Whilst attending UNFCCC COP24 in Katowice, Poland last December I met the Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar from the Republic of Indonesia; palm oil production and the importance of producing it sustainably were discussed.