A PRICE war has erupted between one of Australia’s largest biscuit makers and supermarket giant Coles.

Arnott’s, maker of Tim Tam, have cut supply to Coles after Australia’s second-biggest supermarket chain refused to pass price rises, The Australian reports.

Company ties started to crumble in October when Arnott’s demanded price rises of up to 10 per cent for some biscuits - including Scotch Finger, Teddy Bear, Monte Carlo and TeeVee Snacks - and a similar increase on some in-demand Campbell’s cooking stock products.

Coles refused to accept the price rises arguing they are unjustified, prompting Arnott’s to stop supplying up to six Tim Tam varieties and a range of other biscuits.

“Arnott’s refused to give us the detail on this,” Coles managing ­director John Durkan told The Australian, “so we had to refuse the cost increase. When we refused the cost increase Arnott’s refused to supply us.”

A spokeswoman for Arnott’s claimed yesterday the company was not in dispute with Coles about pricing and was not restricting the supply of biscuits to Coles.

However, she declined to comment about the refusal to supply in October and its decision to block supply of key lines that Coles now had decided not to stock because of the blockade.

For the full story, see The Australian.