Aldi Ireland has announced plans to extend its fast-track payments for over 200 Irish suppliers to the end of the year.
In a statement, the discounter confirmed that it is extending its temporary shorter payment terms initiative for small and medium suppliers to 'further help its supply base impacted by Covid-19, ensuring they get paid as quickly as possible.'
In March, Aldi said that it had reduced its payment terms for all suppliers that transact up to €1 million worth of business annually, with payments now processed and paid within five working days.
Welcoming Aldi’s decision, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dara Calleary said: “This initiative by Aldi was very welcome in the Spring, so I am really pleased to see this extended through the rest of this year."
"I have met many farmer representatives in recent days and it is clear we need to do more to ease the burden on the producers and suppliers of our essential products. Getting payments flowing back to farmers in a prompt fashion is vital and I hope we can see more work being done on this in the period ahead," he added.
'Heightened Demand'
Aldi Ireland increased its spend on Irish produced food and drink by over 24% since the commencement of the pandemic.
The company said that this was due to the fact that it experienced heightened customer demand during the peak of the Covid-19 lockdown.
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