Country Crest, the fresh produce and consumer foods business based in north Dublin and owned by the Hoey family, has signed a two and a half-year extension to its supply deal with Tesco, valued at €62.5m.

This week, Tesco Ireland said it had agreed a further extension of its long-standing 20-year relationship with Country Crest for the supply of potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes for all its stores nationwide.

As part of the deal, Tesco Ireland will source almost 30,000t of potatoes annually from Country Crest, almost 5,000t of onions and over 1,000t of sweet potatoes.

Established by brothers Michael and Gabriel Hoey in the 1990s, Country Crest is the sole supplier of potatoes for Tesco Ireland. The company employs more than 120 people at its production sites in Co Dublin and sources directly from a further 50 farming families across Ireland.

Country Crest director Gabriel Hoey said the deal provided “welcome security” for his business and other farmer suppliers during a period of great uncertainty due to COVID-19.