The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 letter word PRICE WAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
P
R
I
C
E
W
A
R
More clues leading to the result PRICE WAR
- Struggle in which participants keep discounting earlier deals?
- One’s deflated as a result of this competition?
- One cause of decline in the 24: filthy WC, repair needed
- Supplies all marked down here for Jordan conflict
- Grain was short in promotion, creating competition among retailers
- Charges into battle?
- A type of competition where tailless prawn is cooked with rice
- Power struggle to seize grain market where there is undercutting
- Injured social worker looks out, hides behind political leader in a competition between traders
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "One cause of decline in the 24:" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case one cause of decline in the 24: = price war.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.