Harare suspends duties on cooking oil, flour

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe on Tuesday suspended import duty on some basic commodities, including cooking oil and flour, in response to a sharp spike in prices following the flotation of the local currency by the central bank last month.

"The high level of (import) duty, incidental to the current inter-bank rate used in the valuation for duty purposes depresses imported volumes of basic commodities," information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told reporters.

"In view of the above, government is therefore suspending duty on basic commodities for a period of 90 days, with effect from 12 May."

The rate of import duty levied varied with the products but stood at between 60 to 100 percent.

Some of the goods include cooking oil, rice, flour and soap, whose prices have shot up by as much as four times since the country's disputed March 29 election.

Zimbabweans had hoped the elections could help end their country's economic meltdown, which has triggered inflation of 165,000 percent, 80 percent unemployment, severe food and fuel shortages, and a flood of refugees to neighboring states.

Instead, prices have skyrocketed in the stalemate since the poll and reports of politically motivated attacks are spreading.

Official results showed opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat Mugabe for the presidency in the first round, but not by enough votes to avoid a run-off.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Stephen Weeks)