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Vic Neufeld, chief executive of of Aphria, said his company had a five-year agreement with Shoppers as its “first and primary supplier,” and that every year of the deal included “minimum requirements on volumes that they must purchase from us for them to maintain the following year’s exclusivity.”

Based on the terms of the agreement, specific financial terms would not be disclosed, he said.

“This stems from our long-held belief that pharmacies can, and should, play an important role in the safe and secure distribution of medical cannabis in Canada,” Neufeld added on a conference call with analysts. “It gives Aphria a huge, huge lift when it comes to the shareholder value.”

Trading of Aphria shares was halted Monday afternoon, with the company’s stock price closing up 1.93 per cent, at $11.62. Shares of the greenhouse grower are up nearly 86 per cent for the year.

The supply agreement between Aphria and Shoppers has been reached approximately seven months out from Canada’s July 2018 target date for the legalization of recreational cannabis. It also follows Saskatchewan-based medical marijuana company CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. becoming the first licensed producer to sign a deal with a national pharmacy chain when it signed a letter of intent with PharmaChoice in March of this year.