Earthquake disaster in Turkiye also hit the agriculture sector
A quake rated 7.7 on the earthquake magnitude scale struck the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province early on Monday, followed by a 7.6 magnitude quake centered on Kahramanmaras’ Elbistan district
Several other provinces were affected, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Iskenderun, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa. A total of 13.3 million people, that is, 15.7 percent of the total population in Türkiye, live in the provinces declared as disaster zones. While the population density in Türkiye is 110, this figure is 151 in the disaster area.
Agriculture sector
The agricultural sector in these ten provinces provides 14.3 percent of the national income of the country. Provinces in the disaster area account for 8.7 percent of total exports. In 2022, this export figure was $19.76 billion.
It is estimated that the impact of the earthquake disaster on agricultural production will be felt especially in cereals and pulses products. In addition, the region is an important in terms of animal production (especially sheep and goats). It is assumed that many animals perished during the earthquake and there is a serious deficit in human power.
This situation is not expected to cause a serious food crisis or food shortage across the country. Agricultural activities in other regions continue normally. However, it is expected that it will play an important role to increase the food inflation in coming months.
Greenhouse sector
The another side effect of the disaster is on greenhouse sector. Although this region is not the center for greenhouses, it is important area for steel production ,30% of Turkey’s steel-producing electric-arc furnace [EAF] capacity, equivalent to approximately 11.7 million tonnes [per year] of steel production. Besides, the port of Iskenderun was damaged, and operations were halted as a result of the devastating earthquakes. Other ports in the country are operating normally. Iskenderun is an important port in Turkey for steel imports and exports, as well as raw material deliveries, mostly of steel scrap. This situation will also effect the greenhouse construction sector as well as creating a logistic problems for the export.
