accused Pitt and Company of "unethical'' business practices and is refusing to sell their products.

The row involves a battle between Pitt and Co. and Winter-Cookson to sell the cigarettes of RJR Nabisco, whose brands include Camel, Salem and Winston.

Several weeks ago, RJR transferred its local agency from Pitt and Co. to Winter-Cookson, although Pitt and Co. has continued to sell RJR's brands, buying them from a third party.

In a bid to woo retail customers, both firms have engaged in a cost-cutting war that has seen the wholesale price of a 20-packet carton of cigarettes fall from about $28 to less than $25.

Mr. Cabral had already dropped Pitt and Co. as its RJR cigarettes supplier before the official distributorship changed hands for reasons which have not been disclosed.

As a result, though, he claims Pitt and Co. have put a $4 across-the-board increase on other cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Merit and Rothmans, which they supply to the Book Rack.

He was so furious when Pitt and Co.'s general manager Mr. Ken Hockenhull told him of the increase yesterday that he ordered Mr. Hockenhull out of his store.

"I was angry that this man walked into my shop and tried to dictate to me what prices we charge,'' he said. "I told him to get out.'' Before he did that, though, Mr. Hockenhull had told him that the Book Rack's sales account with Pitt and Co. had gone down by 28 percent since the company started dealing with Winter-Cookson, said Mr. Cabral.

He added: "The increases mean that I cannot sell their brands at competitive prices and still make a decent profit.

"I've got to make a living as well and I'm not going to allow them to dictate what my prices are going to be. I don't want any part of this whole price war and everything else.'' Mr. DeSilva said he felt the price increases were aimed at encouraging him to return to Pitt and Co.

He added: "They are only punishing themselves because I have decided to close our account with them. Now, not only have they lost 28 percent in volume but they have lost everything.'' But Mr. Hockenhull categorically denied his firm had acted unethically.

"We have a tiered wholesale pricing policy, linked to volume,'' he said. "If volume goes down our prices go up and vice versa.

"We are just applying our normal policy in the case of the Book Rack. We're doing nothing abnormal.'' Mr. Hockenhull said he was "very reluctant'' to talk about individual customers. "That would be unethical,'' he said.

But he added: "I've no problems with Mr. Cabral's decision to obtain certain brands of cigarettes elsewhere. It's free competition.

"However, we are treating him exactly the same as everyone else. The price we are charging him is the same as other customers on the Island with similar volume.'' Winter-Cookson's top executives could not be contacted yesterday.