HARARE, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - Zimbabwe, a nation struggling against hyperinflation and widespread hunger, will host a summit of African leaders to discuss boosting trade and improving food security, an official said Thursday.

Leaders from the continent's main trading bloc, the 19-nation Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), will meet in early December in the resort town of Victoria Falls, a top Zimbabwean trade official said.

The leaders will discuss ways to step up regional integration through trade and better food security, said Christian Katsande, secretary for industry and international trade.

They could also launch a new customs union at the summit, if the members agree to final details on a common tariff regime adopted at a meeting in Kenya last year.

Ministers and other officials will begin meeting on November 25, with heads of state gathering for the final days of the summit that ends December 8, he said.

Zimbabwe will take over the group's rotating chair from Kenya at the summit, Katsande added.

The meeting had originally been set for May, but Zimbabwe postponed it due to political uncertainty surrounding its first round of elections in March.

Zimbabwe's own economy has been in free fall for years, with inflation most recently estimated at 11.2 million percent. The United Nations estimates up to half the population will require emergency food aid this year.

COMESA's members are expected to approve the steps towards the customs union, after the 19 countries agreed to allow free movement of capital goods with a 10 percent tax on intermediate products and a 25 percent tax for finished goods.

COMESA represents around 400 million people, linking Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.