The country's arable land bank fell by 40,700 hectares last year, to 121.73 million hectares, still above the government's 120 million "critical" mark, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said yesterday.

The figures were published in the 2007 National Land and Resources Communiqu. The total arable land area at the end of 2006 was 122 million hectares, the MLR report said.

Hu Cunzhi, head of the ministry's planning commission, said the figure represents the smallest annual decrease since 2001, when the arable land bank was 127.6 million hectares.

Hu attributed the slowdown to government efforts to stop arable land being returned to forest and the fact there had been fewer natural disasters than in previous years.

The introduction of rigid land protection rules and campaigns to arrest violators had also helped, he said.

The ministry is drafting a long-term land usage plan that will run until 2020, Hu said.

"The plan will take into consideration land use across all sectors," he said.

"So we are soliciting opinions from various ministries.

"Once the draft is complete, it will be presented to the State Council for approval," he said.

"The aim of the plan is to better protect the limited arable land and make more efficient use of areas designated for development," Hu said.