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<p>We are committed to supporting sustainable production, import, and use of palm
oil. Oil palm is a very efficient crop, producing more oil per hectare than other
vegetable oil crops. Substitution of other oils (for example, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower),
which typically require significantly more land to produce, may lead to greater environmental
impacts as more land is converted to agricultural use.</p><p> </p><p>We are working
closely with industry, including with supermarkets and manufacturers, to support sustainable
production and use of palm oil. For example, in 2012, the Government established the
UK Roundtable on Sourcing Sustainable Palm Oil, bringing together key British businesses
and supporting them to shift to sustainable palm oil supply chains. Latest reports
show that 71% of palm oil and palm kernel oil imports into the United Kingdom were
certified sustainable in 2020 – up from 16% in 2010. It is not HM Government’s policy
to reduce the overall use of palm oil in United Kingdom supply chains.</p><p> </p><p>HM
Government is also committed to tackling the use of illegally produced forest risk
commodities – agricultural commodities whose production is associated with wide-scale
forest loss, which currently include palm oil. We have introduced world-leading due
diligence legislation to make it illegal for larger businesses operating in the United
Kingdom to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or
used. From December 2021 to March 2022, we consulted on which specific commodities
we should regulate through initial secondary legislation. This included seeking views
on regulating the following shortlist of commodities: cattle, cocoa, coffee, maize,
palm oil, rubber, and soy.</p>
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