LISBON, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government has expressed "great concern" over dozens of employees working in Portuguese supermarket chains in Venezuela that have been jailed, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued late Friday night.

The ministry summoned the Venezuelan ambassador in Lisbon, Lucas Rincon Romero, over the arrest in Venezuela of 38 employees of two Portuguese supermarket chains, of whom 34 remained detained.

During the meeting with the ambassador, the ministry said Portuguese companies have demonstrated resilience in a difficult Venezuelan economy, while playing a fundamental social role in supplying the population with goods and guaranteeing employment.

"The Portuguese community in Venezuela, like so many others around the world, is deeply integrated and is known for its capacity to work and respect for the country's legal system," the statement said.

The Portuguese government also expressed concern with "the situation of the commercial sectors where the Portuguese community is heavily deployed, given the economic and legal constraints imposed on them."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told Council of Ministers in the presidential palace on Thursday that 34 employees of the "big supermarkets" had been detained for "breaking the law," according to Portuguese Lusa News Agency.

"We had a group of supermarkets that hid products from people and started charging the price they wanted," the president was quoted by Lusa as saying.

After Brazil, Venezuela hosts the second largest community of Portuguese emigrants in Latin America. Some 10,000 Portuguese and Portuguese descendants returned to Portugal's autonomous Madeira Island in the last two years amid economic difficulties in Venezuela, according to local media reports.?