Cameroon has suspended the purchase of government vehicles and cut official travel abroad to fund a public sector wage increase aimed at countering high food prices, the prime minister's office said on Friday.

Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni said in a statement he had ordered a reduction in the number of government missions abroad as well as the size of the delegations.

President Paul Biya's government raised wages by 15 percent this month and suspended custom duties on some basic goods after the rising cost of fuel and other essentials sparked riots in February in which right activists say up to 100 people died.

Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Mozambique have also been hit by protests over food prices.

Cameroon is losing up to 42 billion CFA francs a month because of the suspension of custom duties and spends 8 billion CFA francs a month on the salary rise.

As part of measures to improve living conditions and reduce unemployment, the government also handed permanent contracts to some 14,000 temporary workers and probationary teachers.

The authorities are also tightening price controls on basic products, such as reducing the cost of a 60-kg bag of flour from 22,500 CFA francs to 19,800 CFA francs, the release stated.

International Monetary Fund officials have given their blessing to African countries imposing temporary measures to counter rampant food price inflation and has discussed the possibility of funding to counter external economic shocks.