20100105

HARARE (Reuters) - Swiss food company Nestle has resumed operations in Zimbabwe, following assurances by the government that its business will not be interfered with, a company official said on Tuesday.

Nestle shut its Harare factory last month, complaining of harassment by authorities after it cancelled a deal to buy milk from a farm taken over by President Robert Mugabe's family.

Nestle's move was a setback to efforts by a new unity government set up by Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, to attract foreign investors in a bid to fix Zimbabwe's battered economy.

A senior company official told Reuters that Nestle, which employs more than 200 people in the country, had reopened its factory after getting government assurances that its operations would not be interfered with.

Nestle said its decision to shut the facility was prompted by an unannounced visit from government officials and police on December 19, after which the firm was forced to accept a milk delivery from non-contracted suppliers.

Two of its managers, including expatriate managing director Heath Tilley, were questioned by police and released without charge the same day.

Nestle stopped buying milk from Gushungo Dairy Estate, owned by Mugabe's family, in October following international criticism of a deal agreed in February. The farm had been seized under Mugabe's controversial land reform programme.

At the time, Nestle said its business with the farm accounted for 10-15 percent of its local milk supply and that it had a long-term commitment to Zimbabwe.