BEIJING — China's populations of live pigs and breeding sows increased steadily during the first quarter of the year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on April 18.

The country's live pig inventory rose 1.6 percent year-on-year to reach 422.53 million at the end of March, including 41.85 million breeding sows.

In the first quarter, China's output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry reached 23.95 million metric tons, up 8.8 percent year-on-year. The country produced 15.61 million tons of pork during the period, up 14 percent from a year ago.

China has introduced a three-level early-warning system to raise the alarm for excessive ups and downs in hog prices.

Livestock farms and households are advised to make reasonable decisions for production and operation to maintain the stability of hog production capacity.