Castletownbere's Shellfish Ireland secures €500,000 contract for Lidl stores in Spain and Portugal

The deal is the result of efforts to open up new avenues for Irish suppliers in the seafood area in Lidl's international markets.

This has resulted in one of Lidl Spain's buyers, Fernando Clemente, moving to be based full time in Lidl s Dublin HQ to negotiate international contracts directly with Irish suppliers.

Ryan Murphy of Shellfish Ireland said the deal was "a great opportunity" for the company and said engagement with Mr Clemente was a key part in securing the opportunity.

"Fernando came down to us to see how we do things. So he saw how we catch our crab, we took him out in the boat fishing. It's a very rare opportunity to get a buyer down to you and see how you do things so it was brilliant," he said.

Mr Murphy said his family - which has run the business for four generations - was hugely excited by the deal.

This contract signing with Lidl represents a great opportunity for our fourth generation, family run business which is based West Cork in Castletownbere.

"The opportunity to export wild north east Atlantic crab, or brown crab, to Lidl stores in Spain and Portugal is hugely exciting for us and will allow us to continue to support the local community, where we are one of the largest employers in the area.

"It is fantastic also to see a large international retailer like Lidl show such confidence in Irish companies," he said.