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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban the export of paraquat.

The Government does not currently intend to ban the export of paraquat.

The export of paraquat from Great Britain (GB) is strictly regulated under the GB Prior Informed Consent (PIC) regulatory regime for the export and import of certain hazardous chemicals. We believe it is essential that the use of pesticides that are known to be hazardous to human health or the environment should be subject to scientific risk assessment, mitigation, and regulatory protections. That is why we support notification of the export of Paraquat under GB PIC and support its listing under the Rotterdam convention.

The exchange of information that PIC provides allows importing countries to make informed decisions on the import of those chemicals and on how to handle and use them safely. This process is kept under review.

The UK is committed to working internationally through bodies such as the OECD, the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC - formerly SAICM), the Rotterdam Convention and United Nations Environment Assembly to manage pesticides safely. As a strong supporter of the GFC, the UK successfully negotiated 28 targets to deliver a safer and more sustainable future for the planet, including targets calling for increased global action on the most harmful pesticides in agriculture – working with stakeholders to support the availability of safe and affordable alternatives for farmers around the world.