China should stop hoarding food and fertiliser, Malpass warns world

Former World Bank (World Bank) president David Malpass told the BBC World Service's World Business Report that China should stop hoarding food and fertiliser, arguing that stockpiling by Beijing is tightening global supplies and exacerbating market strain. Malpass said China holds “the biggest world stockpile of food stuffs and of fertiliser” and urged an end to further accumulation.

Malpass also took aim at China’s continued description of itself as a developing country, saying that as the world’s second-largest economy Beijing’s claim to developing-country status in institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the World Bank is increasingly hard to justify. His remarks came ahead of a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to the reporting, China halted exports of several fertiliser types in March and accounted for around 25% of global fertiliser output last year, with exports exceeding $13 billion — facts Malpass cited to underline the scale of Beijing’s influence on global agricultural input markets. Those export limits, combined with disruptions such as closures in the Strait of Hormuz, have tightened supplies at a critical planting season.

Market implications include potential upward pressure and volatility in food and agricultural input prices. Fertiliser shortages can raise production costs for farmers, feed through to consumer food prices and add to inflationary pressures, complicating central bank assessments and commodity market positioning. Observers note that such supply-side shocks can have outsized effects on emerging-market economies that are net importers of food and fertiliser.

Analysts say Malpass’s statements may increase diplomatic and market scrutiny of China’s stock policies even if they do not prompt immediate policy change in Beijing. Possible near-term outcomes include calls for greater transparency in national stockpile reporting, diversification of supply chains, and international coordination to stabilise markets; nonetheless, geopolitical risks and trade-policy disputes could sustain elevated uncertainty for commodity markets.