IT IS akin to selling coals to Newcastle or taking snow to the Eskimos.
But for a Scottish shellfish company, a deal to supply Belgian's national dish – mussels – to one of the country's leading supermarket chains is a major coup.
Shetland-based Isle of Shuna has signed a six-figure contract to supply thousands of t
onnes of "rope-grown" mussels to Belgian retailer Delhaize.
Donny Gillies, Isle of Shuna's managing director, said: "This is excellent news for the Scottish seafood industry. It emphasises what we have always known, that fresh Scottish shellfish is the best in the world.
"Supplying Belgium with mussels may seem a bit like selling snow to the Eskimos, but our rope-grown mussels are more environmentally-friendly and sustainable than the dredged mussels commonly grown in Europe."
Isle of Shuna, which operates under the Demlane brand in the UK, will supply Delhaize with two products – 1kg packs of jumbo live mussels and 1kg packs of super live mussels.
The shellfish will be transported live, in a specially-conditioned atmosphere, to Belgium.
The atmosphere in the packaging is designed to scientifically match that of the seashore where the mussels were harvested. Gillies added: "Because our fresh mussels in (the special] packaging are not exposed to the air, as happens when they are bought in nets, they remain fresh, moist and plump to a degree previously impossible to attain."
He added: "The taste is also superior as all of our mussels are grown in the crystal clear waters of Shetland and the west coast of Scotland."
The Delhaize deal follows a recent European funding win of nearly £500,000 to Isle of Shuna, aimed at boosting the Scottish mussel farming industry's exposure to the £60 million European market.
Isle of Shuna – which claims to have a 25 per cent UK market share of Scottish farmed mussels and sells some 600 tonnes each year – now plans to target other European countries including France, Holland and Germany.
The company acquired Demlane – the first UK firm to grow mussels on long lines – in 2005.
