§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 11 April (WA 122), how figures for mahogany imports to the UK are collated. [HL4558]
§ Lord WhittyFurther to my reply of 11 April, mahogany (Swietenia Macrophylla) is listed on Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and does not therefore require an import permit. However, the importer must complete an import notification form which must be presented to HM Customs for clearance.
These notifications specify the quantity of timber imported and are passed to my department (as the UK CITES Management Authority) to record. Details of quantities imported are then passed annually to the United Nations Environment Programme which collates similar information from all other signatories to the covention. These figures are published annually.