Toshiba plans to cut production of flash memory chips by 30 percent after being caught by oversupply and tumbling prices. The company today announced an adjustment to production of NAND flash memory at its Yokkaichi Operation plant in Mie Prefecture, Japan, that will cut Toshiba's production by approximately 30%.

Toshiba, the world's No. 2 maker of NAND flash memory chips after Samsung Electronics, said on Tuesday that oversupply of NAND flash memory in the retail market, for application in USB memories and memory cards, has resulted in continual price declines since the beginning of this year. Toshiba's move to adjust production would help to reduce inventory in the market and improve the overall balance between supply and demand.

High growth rates are forecast for PCs and Smartphones, the drivers of global market demand of NAND flash memory, and the supply and demand balance is expected to improve in the current quarter, from July to September. Along with this, Toshiba will implement a timely production adjustment to encourage early restoration of the balance in supply and demand and improve the overall market conditions ahead of the anticipated rise in demand.