New deals and contract extensions with Lakeland Dairies, Clandeboye Estate Yogurt, Donnelly Fresh produce and Velo Coffee Roasters have been announced by Aldi.

Aldi has said the deals are worth €26m to the suppliers.

The four suppliers, some of whom have been supplying Aldi for more than 20 years, produce fruit and vegetables, dairy products and coffee, and some of the contracts will see Aldi open up new international markets for their producers.

The new contracts were announced at the National Ploughing Championships on Thursday.

Lakeland

The new deal with Lakeland is worth €15.3m to the dairy processor, with the supermarket stating that the new contract will see Lakeland Dairies’ “footprint grow as it continues to supply milk and dairy products, including Clonbawn fresh and light milk, to Aldi stores nationwide”.

Clandeboye Estate Yogurts

The new two-year deal with Clandeboye is worth €9.9m (£8.6m) and will see the Bangor-based supplier continue to supply Aldi Ireland with granola and Greek-style craft yogurts, as well as supplying Aldi UK stores for the first time.

Donnelly Fresh

Having supplied Aldi for more than two decades, the latest deal with Donnelly Fresh produce will see the family-run producers continue to supply cauliflowers to Aldi for the next two years and is worth more than €1m to Donnelly Fresh produce.

Managing director of buying and services at Aldi Colin Breslin said: “At Aldi, we are committed to supporting our Irish producers, meaning our customers can enjoy the very best products Ireland has to offer, and our suppliers can reach new markets with their produce.

“We have long-standing relationships with many of our suppliers and these new deals we are announcing today with four of our valued suppliers is testament to the partnerships we look to build.

Scale

“The scale of this investment, worth more than €26m, shows how much we value our supplier partners, how we want to help them sustain and grow their businesses, how we’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with them throughout what have been a few challenging years and how we want to help them create new jobs across the country and unlock new markets for their produce,” he said.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said that providing producers with a route to market such as this is of key importance to help them grow their businesses, create employment and support economic activity across Ireland.