Footwear and leather industry leaders lament earthquake disaster
Senior figures in the footwear and leather industries in Turkey have expressed their sorrow at the suffering of the victims of the violent earthquakes that struck the country and neighbouring Syria on February 6.
After four days, the authorities in both countries had confirmed that more than 22,000 people had died as a result, with this figure likely to rise further. Another 80,000 people were injured.
In separate messages, president of the Turkish Footwear Industrialists’ Association, Berke Icten, and the Turkish Leather Industrialists’ Association, Burak Uyguner, offered condolences to the victims’ families and expressed hope that injured people would recover and help rebuild their communities.
Ten Turkish provinces were affected, but they were areas in which the textiles, chemicals and agricultural products sectors dominate manufacturing.
Some footwear manufacturing facilities were in place in Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Adana, Hatay and Urfa provinces but production has halted there and industry commentators have suggested it will not be easy for these factories to recover.
