Macao was the eighth most important destination in Asia for Portuguese exports last year, local newspaper Macao Daily News reported on Sunday.

The Consul General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong, Vítor Sereno, provided the figure on the sidelines of an opening ceremony for a new Portuguese canned food store in Macao.

“Macao is a showcase platform for high value-added products,” said Mr Sereno. “It is also an important entry point into [mainland] China and even Asia.”

Although Macao’s population only accounted for 0.05 percent of the overall population in China, the city absorbed 3 percent of all Portuguese exports to China last year, Mr Sereno added.

He stressed Macao was a strategic market for Portuguese businesses.