(FAP)-- Zeng Yande, chief agronomist of the Ministry of Agriculture and Village and director of the Department of Development and Planning, said at a news conference held by the State News Office that at the end of March, according to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, there are 43.05 million breeding sows in the country, equivalent to 105 percent of the normal number of 41 million. Zeng Yande pointed out that pork production in the first quarter was 15.9 million tons, up 1.9 per cent from a year earlier. Livestock, poultry and aquatic products have increased in an all-round way. The output of beef, sheep and poultry increased by 3.6% over the same period last year, milk production increased by 8.5%, and domestic aquatic product production increased by 4.4%.