MACAO -- Government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) said on Thursday that Macao has ample supply of salt to meet demand of its resident, after a wave of panic buying spread from Chinese mainland to Macao.

Chui Sai on, Chief Executive of Macao SAR, said officials from Macao's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Economic Services and Consumer Council held emergency meeting this afternoon and confirmed ample supply of salt in Macao.

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Some supermarkets and local stores in Macao have run out of salt Thursday as a wave of panic buying spread here.

At noon, residents could be seen queuing for more than 30 meters outside a local store near Central District of Macao to buy salt, while storekeepers kept telling people that it had been sold out.

Rumors say that radiation has leaked into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan, compromising the safety of salt taken from the sea in the future, and that salt with iodine is believed to help protect people from nuclear radiation.

Chui said the government was aware of the rumors about radiation and that authorities would keep on releasing information to arrest the rumors.

He called on resident to stay calm and not to be fooled into panic buying by baseless rumors.