Turkey's industries see biggest decline since 2020 in quake aftermath
Production output fell by 8.2% annually in February, the same month the earthquakes wreaked havoc on the country, according to new data.
Turkey’s industrial production suffered its biggest decline since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as the impact of deadly earthquakes ripples through the economy.
The devastating earthquakes on Feb. 6 killed more than 50,000 across 11 provinces in southeast Turkey and were described by officials as “the worst disaster of the century.” The Turkish government estimates that the damage caused by the quakes will exceed $100 billion, while thousands of businesses had their operations frozen.
Production fell by 8.2% annually in February, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute released Tuesday. The last time there was a steeper drop was for the year ending May 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mining and quarrying was hardest hit, plunging 18.3% from the previous month.
Data released earlier this week also showed that unemployment increased 0.3% in February to 10%. For the first two months of 2023, Turkey’s current account deficit reached $18.8 billion, 85% of the government’s target for the whole year.
