BUYERS from the British supermarket group ASDA are in Belfast today to meet Northern Ireland suppliers in a move aimed at increasing the £20 million per year that the chain already spends in the North.
The group, which has already said that it wants to expand into Northern Ireland, is expected to meet representatives of a number of food and drink companies at the one day buyer session.
Meanwhile an ASDA spokeswoman dismissed reports that the company has already acquired Instonians' Shane Park ground in Belfast in a £4.75 million deal. The spokeswoman said the reports were pure speculation.
ASDA will be the third major British supermarket group to enter the Northern market and follows Sainsbury and Tesco. Sainsbury plans to open seven stores in the North in a £100 million investment.
The company has said that it plans to open its first outlet in the North by Christmas. Planning permission for the 28,000 sq ft development in Coleraine Co Derry, was granted last month.
Tesco is currently converting a former AIB Bank building in the centre of Belfast into a Metro store, while the company is also opening a larger store in Lisburn, Co Antrim.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)