Former World Bank Chief Calls on China to Release Food and Fertiliser Stockpiles
BBC Business reported Monday that former World Bank President David Malpass is pressing China to draw down its China food stockpiles. He argued that Beijing’s reserve accumulation is deepening a global supply crunch already strained by conflict in the Middle East.
Malpass Makes the Case for Opening Reserves
Malpass, who led the World Bank from 2019 to 2023, spoke to the BBC’s World Business Report hours before a scheduled summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. He told the broadcaster that China holds the world’s largest inventories of both foodstuffs and fertiliser. He said Beijing should, at minimum, halt any further additions to those reserves.
The former World Bank chief also questioned China’s continued self-identification as a developing nation inside bodies like the WTO and the World Bank. He said that posture is difficult to defend for the world’s second-largest economy, and argued Beijing could voluntarily suspend that status.
Hormuz Closure Tightens the Screw on Fertiliser Markets
The Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint. Its effective closure has severely disrupted fertiliser shipments at exactly the moment farmers across the Northern Hemisphere need supplies ahead of spring planting. China compounded the pressure in March when it suspended fertiliser exports, citing the need to protect its own domestic agriculture sector.
Malpass argued that Beijing has a direct economic incentive to push for resolution. He noted that Chinese companies dominate global shipping infrastructure and container ownership, meaning prolonged Iranian control over the Strait would ultimately damage Chinese commercial interests as much as anyone else’s.
On the Iran ceasefire, which Trump described earlier this week as being on life support, Malpass said the international community should rally behind a unified demand for a settlement. He was blunt: no state should be permitted to hold a critical global waterway hostage.
Background: Malpass and the Trump-Xi Summit
Malpass served as Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs during Trump’s first term before taking the World Bank helm. His reemergence as a public voice comes as the Beijing summit carries unusual weight. The meeting is the most significant US-China presidential encounter in nearly a decade, with tariff truces, Middle East stability, and global commodity flows all on the table.
Separately, Malpass offered a cautious read on the US economic outlook. He told the BBC that American consumers should expect prices to rise on a range of goods, though he noted that recent jobs figures suggest the broader economy retains some underlying resilience ahead of Tuesday’s April inflation data release.
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