According to reports, Western Digital has raised the price of all its NAND flash memory in response to the sharp rise in costs.

Other NAND flash and memory chip makers are likely to follow Western Digital's lead, the report said. This could push up NAND flash prices to start a rebound in the first quarter of 2022 and possibly see the biggest increase of 2022 in the second quarter.

Earlier, Western Digital and Kioxia announced the shutdown of their joint venture plant in Japan due to contamination of certain materials used in the manufacturing process. Since Western Digital and its joint venture partner Kioxia have a combined 35% market share, their production loss could affect 2-4% of total global NAND flash production this year.

In January, a contamination incident occurred at a joint venture between Western Digital and Kioxia in Japan. Since Western Digital and its joint venture partner Kioxia have a combined 35% market share, their production loss could affect 2-4% of total global NAND flash production this year.

"The NAND market has been in a slightly oversupplied state and prices have been falling," said Craig Stice, principal analyst at Omdia. "Now factoring in Kioxia's production losses, supply and demand may return to relative balance for the remainder of the quarter."