Tomatoes, Rocha pears and tropical fruit are among the €35m of Portuguese products purchased by Mercadona in the nine months to September, Portugal’s Dinheiro Vivo reports.
Elena Aldana, director of external relations for Mercadona in Portugal, told the newspaper that full-year sales would likely top €50m.
The Spanish retailer announced earlier this year that it was to open four new stores in Portugal, signalling the first move in its international expansion strategy. Although the stores are not set to open until 2019, Mercadona has a longstanding relationships with Portuguese suppliers for its 1,574 Spanish stores.
Mercadona wants to set up the same sustainable agri-food supply model in Portugal that is has in Spain, where it works directly with 7,500 producers, 4,300 livestock farmers and 12,000 fishermen under its Sustainable Food Chain project.
