China loses more farmland by 2011  

国土部：中国2011年耕地保有量净减少49万亩

中国国土资源部12日公布的2011年度中国土地变调查数据显示，截止去年底，中国耕地保有量为18.2476亿亩，净减少49万亩，保持在18亿亩的“红线”之上。

Beijing (CNS) -- China had a net loss of 490,000 mu (32,667 hectares) of arable land by the end of 2011, when its total farmland amounted to 1.82476 billion mu, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Land and Resources.

China's total area of arable land has remained above 1.824 billion mu for three consecutive years, and the aim is to keep 1.818 billion mu by the end of 2015, analysts have said.

China's farmland has been reduced year by year because of rapid urbanization. To ensure grain security, the government set a "red line" in 2008, warning that arable land should never drop below 1.8 billion mu.

Illegal use of land will be stopped, the ministry said.