SUPPLIERS to Woolworths claim they have been given two weeks to cut their prices by up to 10per cent or have their goods removed from shelves — with no commitment from the supermarket giant to lower prices to consumers.

The squeeze on suppliers — described by one of them as "the most brutal negotiations... in my three decades in the industry" — is being mounted by Woolworths to help fund its price war with Coles.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon, an outspoken critic of the combined 80 per cent market share of Woolworths and rival Coles, said yesterday he would be calling for Woolworths to be pulled before a Senate inquiry to explain its actions.

Woolworths and Coles are already facing scrutiny from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which, The Age can reveal, has been contacted by more than 50 suppliers in response to its call for confidential complaints.