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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department’s policy is on the sustainability requirements of imported charcoal; and whether there are plans in place to protect UK producers of charcoal from being impacted by imports.

The government is strengthening its approach to tackling deforestation in UK supply chains. As wood is one of the commodities intended to be covered by the proposed measures, the Government is considering the treatment of specific wood-based products, including charcoal, as policy development continues and ahead of consultation.

The proposed regulations would apply to the use of regulated products in commercial activity, whether imported or supplied domestically, and so will not unfairly favour importers of regulated products over domestic producers.

The approach to defining the specific products in scope will be set out in government's consultation for stakeholder feedback. We will seek views from businesses, civil society and international partners on our proposed policy.