Sir, - Your correspondent Donal Cullen (December 14th) will be pleased to learn that Tesco is fully committed to maintaining and growing trade with the Irish supply-base. In fact, we have already published our intent to grow our supplies from Irish companies from £667 million per annum in 1997 (when we acquired Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices) to £997 million per annum by 2002.
Delivering this increase is a key priority of Tesco. It is a direct response to the requests of our one million customers, - many of whom have asked us to sell as many Irish products as we can.
Tesco Ireland employs eight food and non-food technologists - the largest such team in Ireland. These specialists are working directly with over 100 Irish companies, large and small, advising on and developing new products for the home and export markets. To date, we have introduced 200 such Tesco Brand products made in Ireland, and a further 75 will be introduced in early 1999.
These products, including bread from Longford, rashers and sausages from Wicklow, frozen fish from Roscommon, coffee from Dublin, ice cream from Cork, bottled water from Tipperary and Limerick, toilet rolls from Dublin, firelighters from Louth and milk from the country's leading co-ops, are being actively promoted in our stores.
Every one of the 10,000 Irish people we employ in our 76 stores is playing his or her role in developing and promoting Irish goods.
Any reader is invited to approach any member of staff, or any store manager, who will be happy to show the extent of Irish goods on our shelves. - Yours, etc., Sara Morris,
Corporate Affairs Manager, Tesco Ireland, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.