First-half sales this year by Portuguese farmer of livestock Monte do Pasto Lda, which is owned by CESL Asia of Macao, were twice what they were last year, Ponto Final reports.

A report in the Macao newspaper last week quotes CESL Asia Chief Executive António Trindade. as saying so in an interview.

CESL Asia has invested 50 million patacas (about US$6.26 million) in Portugal so far, Mr Trindade said.

He said Monte do Pasto was the biggest producer of beef in Portugal and Spain, and one of the largest in Europe.

It farms 3,800 hectares, of which 1,000 hectares has been acquired since the COVID-19 pandemic began to introduce greater added-value crops, Ponto Final quotes Mr Trindade as saying.

In February Ponto Final reported that Monte do Pasto had dispatched its first shipment to Macao of its True Born premium brand of beef and mutton, which was worth 100,000 euros (about US$120,400), and that the company aimed to make further sales in Hong Kong and mainland China.