"She said she had identified 69 new outlets for 336 products, in a joint parliamentary hearing with the Budget and Finance and Agriculture and Fisheries Committees.

She said that the ministry was working with foreign affairs to "add value" to this work, specifying that the focus had to be on areas in which Portugal "has a surplus production capacity.

Maria do Céu Antunes praised the role of the Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV) in opening up new markets, noting that this process follows "strict protocols".

She also pointed out that in five years 69 new markets had been opened for 269 products, 16 of which in the current legislature.

During the Covid-19 pandemic alone, the possibility of exporting 13 products to 10 different countries was opened, she said.