Twin quakes hit Türkiye's industrial production in February

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's industrial production was down 8.2% on a yearly basis in February after twin powerful earthquakes hit 11 provinces and affected 13 million people in the country, according to official figures announced on Tuesday.

Among subsectors, the mining and quarrying index plummeted by 18.2%, the manufacturing index decreased by 8.2% and the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index was down by 4.5% in February, compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

TurkStat calculates the industrial production index based on monthly surveys and Value Added Tax (VAT) declarations.

However, it added: “In the regions affected by the earthquake disaster in our country, force majeure was declared and VAT declarations were postponed. The response rate for the monthly industrial production survey in these regions was 67%.”

Industrial production was also down by 6% on a monthly basis in February.

More than 50,000 people were killed on Feb. 6 when magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southern and southeastern Turkish provinces.