China has halted its $13 Billion fertiliser exports following the continuous closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. China has halted exports of several types of fertiliser since March, citing the need to protect domestic supplies.
This came on top of restrictions that have been steadily put in place since 2021. China accounted for about 25% of global output of fertiliser in 2025, with exports totalling more than $13bn (£9.6bn).
Thia restrictions have led to appeals by David Malpass, who also served as Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs under US President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. He called on China to stop hoarding food and fertiliser to ease a global supply crisis caused by the Iran war.
David Malpass, speaking to the World Service’s World Business Report on the eve of the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing said “They have the biggest world stockpile of foodstuffs and of fertiliser.
“They can stop building their stockpiles.”
His comments come as nations around the world scramble to secure fertiliser supplies ahead of spring planting, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupting shipments.
Earlier this month, the boss of one of the world’s biggest fertiliser producers warned that the interruption to supplies could cost up to 10 billion meals a week globally and would hit poorest countries hardest.
