Harare, Aug 31 (IANS): The Zimbabwean government on Friday banned the sale of gasoline that has not been blended with ethanol in an effort to further save foreign currency needed to import the fuel.

A notice issued by the government said the new regulations would come into operation seven days from the date of publication, adding that the decision was arrived at after Minister of Energy and Power Development Edgar Moyo consulted the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority on the issue.

Zimbabwe introduced mandatory blending of gasoline in 2011 in a bid to reduce the amount of foreign currency required to import the fuel and to create a bigger market for sugarcane farmers and generate employment, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, some service stations continued selling unblended gasoline and describing it as unleaded to cater to vehicles that run exclusively on the product and other motorists who prefer it to the blended one.

Some motor vehicles are marked on the fuel tank inlets that they should only use unleaded gasoline.