Economy
Approximately 18.5% of the total surface area is arable land, of which about 75% has permanent crops. A large portion of the agricultural produce consists of cereals. Forested areas occupy 8.8% of the total surface area, with forestry a local industry. Industries largely consist of manufacturing of forestry, agriculture, husbandry, chemistry, textile and mining products. There are 81 active industrial plants in the province, most of them located at the central district of Erzurum, and are small and medium enterprises. Due to their relatively small sizes, these industries mainly serve local markets causing lower capacity usage, low productivity and unemployment. About 40 plants are currently out of use, mostly due to high operating costs.
The province of Erzurum has the highest ratio of meadows and pastures in Turkey, ideal for livestock. However, once the main occupation of the population, animal husbandry lost its importance in 1980s with the introduction of liberal economy and importation of animal products. A large organized industrial park concentrating on processing meat is being built with the hope of reviving this sector. Food products include beekeeping and trout farming.
Mining resources include lead, copper, chromium, and zinc which are of low tenure or have their reserves almost exhausted. There is a considerable amount of lignite, however because its ash and sulfur ratios are high, it suitable only for industrial use. Magnesite, fire clay, gypsum, manganese, diatomite, marble, rock salt and perlite are also present. The few natural geothermal resources, except one, are not suitable for economic investments, and they are used as natural springs.
GDP of the province of Erzurum is USD 1.16 billion, constituting less than 1% of the total and ranking 40th among Turkish provinces (1997 values).
Transportation is possible via paved and unpaved highways. The Erzurum international airport is open for commercial flights and is also utilized by the Turkish Air Force. The runways of this airport are the second longest in Turkey. Erzurum is also the main railroad hub in the Eastern Anatolia region.
The largest contributor to the provincial economy, in recent years, has been Atatürk University which is also one of the largest universities in Turkey, having more than forty-thousand students. Tourist activities including skiing, rafting and mountaineering, also provide a substantial proportion of the province's income. Skiing activities are centered on Palandöken Mountain.
Read more about this topic: Erzurum Province
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“The counting-room maxims liberally expounded are laws of the Universe. The merchant’s economy is a coarse symbol of the soul’s economy. It is, to spend for power, and not for pleasure.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Even the poor student studies and is taught only political economy, while that economy of living which is synonymous with philosophy is not even sincerely professed in our colleges. The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)