Former World Bank President David Malpass called on China to stop hoarding food and fertilizer on May 12, 2026, to alleviate a global supply crisis. Speaking to the BBC, Malpass linked the shortages to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz ahead of a scheduled Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.
The intersection of geopolitical conflict and food security has reached a critical juncture as the world grapples with supply chain collapses in the wake of the Iran war. David Malpass, who led the World Bank from 2019 to 2023 and previously served as Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs under Donald Trump, argued that Beijing is leveraging its massive reserves at a time when global agricultural stability is under threat.
Speaking to the BBC’s World Business Report, Malpass targeted China’s accumulation of essential agricultural inputs, asserting that the country holds the largest global stockpiles of both food stuffs and fertilizer. This hoarding comes as nations worldwide scramble to secure supplies for spring planting, a process severely hampered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted international shipments.
The Strait of Hormuz and Global Supply Shocks
The current crisis is not merely a matter of production but of access. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created a bottleneck that threatens the movement of essential commodities. For Malpass, the situation with Iran is a security imperative that directly impacts global economic health.
You can’t have a rogue state with plutonium, and you can’t block the Strait of Hormuz.
David Malpass, former World Bank President
The fragility of the current diplomatic situation was underscored by US President Donald Trump, who described the Iran ceasefire on Monday as being on massive life support
. Malpass suggested that the international community must align with the United States to demand a resolution, noting that the free movement of ships is fundamentally in China’s own economic interest because Beijing benefits from open waterways worldwide
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China’s Export Restrictions and Domestic Reserves
China has moved aggressively to insulate its own agricultural sector from the volatility caused by the conflict. Since March, Beijing has halted fertilizer exports, citing the necessity of protecting domestic supplies. This move has intensified pressure on other nations attempting to maintain crop yields during the planting season.
The impact of these restrictions is significant given China’s role in the global market. Recent reporting indicates that China is among the largest fertilizer exporters, having shipped more than $13 billion worth of the product last year. The government has a documented history of controlling these exports to keep costs low for domestic farmers, but the current halt is an escalation in the context of a global shortage.
Internal strategies within China further complicate the global supply outlook. State-owned enterprises have maintained large reserves of grain and fertilizer specifically to prepare for the global food crisis triggered by the Iran war. While this ensures domestic stability, it removes critical volume from the global market, contributing to the supply crunch identified by Malpass.
Challenging the Developing Nation Status
Beyond the immediate crisis of food and fertilizer, Malpass used the interview to challenge the institutional status of the People’s Republic of China. He argued that Beijing’s continued identification as a developing nation within international organizations is no longer a credible position.
They present themselves as a developing country when they’re the second biggest economy in the world and in many ways rich. And yet they still have the pretence of being a developing country in the WTO and in the World Bank, and they could suspend that.
David Malpass, former World Bank President
Economic data supports the scale of China’s growth. For 2026, estimates place China’s nominal GDP at $20.852 trillion, ranking it second globally. When measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), the 2026 estimate rises to $44.295 trillion, placing China first in the world. Malpass’s critique suggests that this economic reality should translate into a different set of responsibilities and a departure from the privileges afforded to developing economies in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank.
Diplomatic Pressures Ahead of the Trump-Xi Summit
These comments arrive on the eve of a high-stakes summit in Beijing between President Trump and President Xi Jinping. The meeting occurs against a backdrop of extreme tension over the Iran ceasefire and the resulting economic fallout.
The summit provides a window for the United States to press China not only on the release of food and fertilizer stockpiles but also on its role in resolving the deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz. The US position, as echoed by Malpass, is that the global community must unite to ensure that no single state can block vital maritime arteries or maintain destabilizing nuclear capabilities.
Whether Beijing will view the release of its stockpiles as a diplomatic olive branch or as a surrender of strategic leverage remains uncertain. For now, the Chinese embassy in Washington has been contacted by the BBC for comment, but the government continues to prioritize domestic food security through its state-owned reserves. As the spring planting window closes in many parts of the world, the tension between China’s domestic protectionism and the global need for agricultural inputs is likely to dominate the agenda in Beijing.
