TESCO is to stop sourcing products from Zimbabwe as the political crisis there escalates, the retailer announced last night.
Tesco said it had taken the "difficult decision" to cut trade "until there is an end to the current political crisis".
A spokesman said: "We also attach a very high priority to ensuring that this decision does least harm to the workers and their d
ependants who have supplied us from Zimbabwe.
"We cannot continue to support them through trade, but are urgently finding ways to support them by other means."
The retailer said it could not ignore the crisis and the growing international opinion that further action was needed to increase pressure for change.
It said: "The amount of produce Tesco sources from Zimbabwe – worth around £1 million per year – is insignificant in terms of global trade and influence. However, in the current circumstances, we have decided to stop sourcing any products from Zimbabwe as long as the political crisis persists in that country.
"This is a difficult decision to take. We have to date sought to balance wider political considerations against a desire to support our suppliers in Zimbabwe and enable them to support the workers who depend on that trade for their livelihoods.
"However, we cannot ignore the escalating political crisis in Zimbabwe, and the growing consensus in the international community – including from UK politicians on all sides – that further action must be taken to maximise the pressure for change.
"In these circumstances, we think the right decision is to stop sourcing products from Zimbabwe until there is an end to the current political crisis. We will keep this situation under review.
"Our aim is to re-engage with our suppliers and their workers once stability, and an internationally recognised regime, have returned to the country."
Peter Hain, a former Labour Cabinet minister who has called on supermarkets to end their trade with Zimbabwe, said: "This is a very welcome decision by Tesco. I hope it will give a lead to other British and global companies to freeze or suspend ties with Zimbabwe under Mugabe's tyranny.
"This is a decisive time when everybody and every institution in a position to take a stand should do so."
Supermarkets have been criticised for selling produce from the country where millions are starving under Mugabe's regime.
The announcement is an about-turn for Tesco, which said just last week that it would be "irresponsible" to cut support to small farmers under the current conditions.
A spokesman said last Wednesday: "There is precious little employment in Zimbabwe and it would simply be irresponsible to deprive thousands of people of their only means of feeding their families."
Tesco was among a number of British supermarkets that sell vegetables from the country, including sugar snap peas and fine beans. Earlier this year Waitrose stood by its decision to sell fish from Zimbabwe, saying it stocked tilapia as a sustainable alternative to wild cod.
Draft proposal calls for sanctions against Mugabe THE UK and United States last night revealed the draft text outlining sanctions they want the United Nations Security Council to impose on Zimbabwe.
The seven-page text, entitled Draft Elements for a Chapter VII Sanctions Resolution, says the council would not recognise Robert Mugabe's re-election would impose an embargo on the sales of arms or military hardware to Harare.
The text also asks the council to freeze the assets of and ban travel for anyone who helped the government "undermine democratic processes" or supported politically motivated violence.
Last night Raila Odinga, the Kenyan prime minister, urged the African Union to suspend Mr Mugabe until he allows free and fair elections.
Meanwhile, Italy recalled its envoy to Zimbabwe in protest at the situation. The move followed a call by Italy last week for European Union nations to begin withdrawing their ambassadors to Harare.
The full article contains 648 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
