The country's food security and social stability will be threatened if arable land shrinks any further, Land and Resources Minister Xu Shaoshi warned yesterday.

"The illegal acquisition of arable land (for purposes other than agriculture) has endangered food safety and social stability both," Xu said.

The country needs at least 120 million hectares of arable land to grow 700 million tons of grains required to feed its people, he said. But industrial wastes, expanding deserts and salinization have left 6 million hectares non-cultivable.