Livestock production has been the fastest-growing sector in Japanese agriculture, with meat production increasing from 1.7 million tons in 1970 to three million tons in 2001. In 2001, Japan imported $8.3 billion in beef, pork, and poultry meat. In 2001 there were 9,780,000 hogs, 4,531,000 head of beef cattle, and 292 million chickens. That year, pork production reached 1,241,000 tons (up from 147,318 tons in 1960); beef, 458,000 tons (142,450 tons in 1960); milk, 8,301,000 tons (1,886,997 tons in 1960); and eggs, 2,514,000 tons. Japan is the single largest recipient of US agricultural exports; over a third of Japan's meat imports come from the US.