Sectors

Kahramanmaras is among the most developed provinces in textile industry in Turkey.

There are about 250 companies in the sector, in which approximately 26 thousand people are employed. 5 of these companies are among the 500 largest companies in Turkey (ISO 500, 2011). Producers in the textile sector in which there are such sub-sectors as yarn, weaving, knitting, ready to wear and dyeing-bleaching, have reached high-quality manufacturing standards, capable of competing in international markets. The sector made R&D investments in the province with the incentives it has received and integrated manufacturing facilities have been established. 

The fact that 26% of yarn and 10% of woven fabric, produced in Turkey are produced in Kahramanmaras, indicates that he province is developed in terms of textile.

There are about 50 active companies this sector and approximately 3.000 people are employed. When evaluated on the basis of products manufactured in Kahramanmaras (teapot, cooking pot, frying pan etc.), 50% of the production in the sector is executed in our province.

Province of Kahramanmaras reached an important position in kitchen utensils sector recently. Producers from Kahrmanmaraş engaged in exporting to many countries, mainly to the EU and the Middle Eastern countries, and USA, Egypt, Argentine, Russia, Belarus and Georgia, have increased exporting, which was 13 million 320 thousand $ in 2005 by 215% in 2012 and reached 42 million 200 thousand $ in 2012. (KMTSO)

There are about 180 companies operating in food sector, another prominent sector. Ice-cream and pepper are prominent sub-sectors at both national and international levels, contributing to the economy and the promotion of the province considerably.

Kahramanmaras is the city, where traditional tastes turn into food industry.

Ice-Cream
Because of the fact that it has its own unique flavour as well as being a regional product, Kahramanmaras ice-cream is a dairy product, which is consumed by domestic and foreign consumers in different cultures with great admiration, Although production of Kahramanmaras ice-cream differs depending on the consumer’s demand and the market, an average of 5, 000 tons are produced annually.  
Kahramanmaras ice-cream has been greatly influenced by industrialization. In parallel with the increasing demand, it has begun to slide from small-scale ice-cream production to large-scale businesses having integrated facilities, producing branded products whose reputation has exceeded the province’s and country’s borders.

Red Pepper
Kahramanmaras, which ranks 28th rank in Turkey in terms of agricultural potential, stands out with production and industry of “Maras Pepper”. Red pepper farming and pepper businesses have formed a natural cluster by concentrating in the city center and in the Pazarcık and Turkoglu districts. There are approximately 70 companies, active in the pepper sector in the province of Kahramanmaras. In line with the development of the sector and the realization of branding in the sector, Kahramanmaras Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducts works for the purpose of including in the geographical indication and accreditation of the red pepper.

Jewellery sector, as one of the prominent sectors in Kahramanmaras, ranks second in Turkey after Istanbul with about 450 companies and workshops and processing 40 tons of gold per year. (and ranks first in the manufacture of 22 carat gold). 3.000 people are employed in the sector, where experience in gold processing is very high.

Kahramanmaras ranks 28th in Turkey's agricultural production. There is a high agricultural diversity in Kahramanmaras where the elevation of land ranges between 350 to 3,000 metres. Grains and other crops have a significant part in terms of growing area and amount of product in the agricultural production of the province.

There are 375,309 hectares of agricultural land in the province. Fields constitute 74% of farm land and fruits and vegetables lands and fallow lands constitute the rest. Although Kahramanmaras has a scattered land distribution, arable fields have a 26% share, which is a substantial amount.

Prominent products in the province are wheat, red pepper, sunflower seed, walnut and apricot.

Source: TSI, Regional Indicators Database, 2011

Source: Kahramanmaras Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock, Strategic Plan of 2012-2016 

Organic Farming
Organic farming practices (mainly for vegetable and olive production) have also been realized recently in Kahramanmaras. As a result of increasing organic farming practices; wheat, laurel, apple, apricot, cherry, lentil, chickpeas, grapes, walnuts, lathyrus and feed plants can be grown organically. 22 farmers are engaged in organic farming activities in the province and 1620 tons of production was realized on 321 hectares of land since 2011.

Greenhouse Farming Practices
Kahramanmaras, situated in our region, where 1% of greenhouse farming in Turkey is performed; there are 10 glass greenhouses, 44 plastic greenhouses, 1.754 high tunnels and 8.952 low tunnels. It is thought that there is an investment potential in this area for people and companies, who plan an investment in the field of agriculture.

Animal Production
Kahramanmaras, which has 1,7% of Turkey's small cattle, has also begun to be significant in livestock breeding, especially recently with the investments made in Elbistan county, which has one of Turkey's important livestock markets

Source: TSI, Regional Indicators Database, 2011 

Agriculture and Rural Development Strategic Plan of Kahramanmaras Province
4 strategic regions have been determined with the help of our Agency in accordance with the Agriculture and Rural Development Strategic Plan of the Province of Kahramanmaras, prepared by Kahramanmaras Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock, involving the years 2012 and 2016 with the purpose of evaluation the agricultural potential of our province more effectively and the targets are described below.

Strategic Region 1: Effective Use of Agricultural Production Potential

1. Improving plant production, increasing plant diversity
2. Increasing animal production
3. Protecting the rural population and supporting the socio-cultural development of this population
4. Increasing the effectiveness of Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock
5. Improving the quality of agricultural labor force and providing employment in agricultural land
6. Increasing the effectiveness of agricultural production subsidies

Strategic Region 2: Production Efficiency

1. Increasing efficiency in plant production
2. Increasing efficiency in stockbreeding
3. Effective and efficient use of water resources
4. Effective and efficient use of agricultural lands
5. Increasing the effectiveness of R&D activities in agricultural production

Strategic Region 3: Investments for Value-Added Production

1. Developing of agricultural trade
2. Increasing the competitive capacity of special local products in national and international markets
3. Use of modern techniques in agricultural production and industrialization

Strategic Region 4: Sustainability of Food Safety

1. Ensuring food safety and production of safe food

Economic structure of Kahramanmaras developed based on agriculture, stockbreeding and small handicraft activities after the establishment of the Republic, until the 1980s. Initially, agriculture was the leading sector of the economy owing to its geographical position as well as its suitable climate for farming.

After 1984, when Kahramanmaras ranked among the prominent cities in development, important investments for the textile industry were made with the incentives given to the province. The sectors, which have benefited the most from the incentives are the textile and food industries. 

Metal kitchen utensils sector, an extension of aluminium work and coppersmith from the past, received its share from the same trend of industrialization considerably. Therefore, metal kitchen utensils sector is the second important sector after the textile industry. 

Certain products in the agriculture and food sectors reached the highest level of production in Turkey. Powdered and flaked red pepper production, among the agriculture based sectors, have a tendency to develop in parallel with industrialization. Ice-cream sector, which contributed to the reputation of our city in the country is among the fastest growing sectors. Kahramanmaras ice-cream was influenced greatly by industrialization, have gone beyond the borders of our country and started to spread, especially in countries nearby and USA, then to countries all over the world. In terms of branding, the sector showed a more different tendency than the city's other sub-industry branches. The sector, which played a major role in the promotion of the city, becomes prominent with the brands, whose reputation extends beyond the domestic borders.

Our province, which hosts integrated investments of region's industrialists in areas other than the above-mentioned sectors, such as paper and cement, thanks to the advantages it has been offering in the last few years, has started to be among the alternative places in the investment decisions of well-known brands, especially in the food sector.

In general; the sectors, which shape the economy of Kahramanmaras and provide dynamism, are textile, metal kitchen utensils, food, paper industries and jewellery.

Source: Kahramanmaraş Ticaret ve Sanayi Odası, 2012 

In our province, where the textile, food, mining and metal ware sectors are prominent, when the industry of Kahramanmaras is examined by taking into consideration the Industrial Registry records, it can be seen that 63% of the employment is in the textile sector.  Industrial Registry Inventory of K.Maraş

Kahramanmaras is taking firm steps forward with its existing sectors and potential investment areas. When 3.768.000.000 TL of total fixed investment, planned with 232 investment incentive certificates, prepared between 2009 and 2012, is achieved, approximately 7.600 people will be provided with employment opportunities.

Sectoral Distribution of Total Investment Incentive Certificates of Kahramanmaras Province in 2009-2012

Source: Ministry of Economy

Kahramanmaras, which has been home to various civilizations throughout history has a location, which was a transit point of the old caravan routes. Maraş has a name, known at least for 4 thousand years and a history, which goes back 12.000 years. Home of the Hittites, Assyrians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Seljuks and Ottomans repectively, the city was honored with Red Striped Medal of Independence War for the struggle of resistance in World War I. Due to the resistance of the people during the Independence War, “Hero” title was given to Kahramanmaras, which is one of the few medalled cities in the world, by Grand National Assembly of Turkey and its name was changed as “Kahramanmaras” on February 7, 1973.

Because of its location and the fact that it has been home to many civilizations, Kahramanmaras has cultural and nature tourism potential, richness of flora and regional cuisine culture. In the province, where the diversity of tourism exists, cultural tourism, faith tourism and nature tourism are prominent. There are many sight-seeing attractions in the city center. Kahramanmaras Castle, City Museum, Grand Bazaar, Ulu Mosque and Tas Madrasa are among the prominent places. The province also has great potential for faith tourism. Eshab-ı Kehf (a.k.a. Seven Sleepers) Complex in the Afşin county is an important, popular place in terms of faith tourism. 

A topic, which can revitalize the tourism potential of the city is the floor mosaics found as a result of illegal excavations in a house in the city center recently. Floor mosaics, belonging to ancient city “Germanikya,” are expected to attract the attention of both researchers, working in the mosaic area, and tourists.

5th International Symposium of Mosaic Corpus was held in Kahramanmaras with the supports of DOĞAKA for the research and the international promotion of mosaics, found in the city, in 2011. Many domestic and foreign researchers and academicians participated in the symposium and presentations were made in the fields of mosaic and archaeology and international promotion of Kahramanmaras mosaics was achieved.

Kahramanmaras hosts many plants in Kapıçam, Başkonuş and Yavşan plateaus, as well as with its historical and cultural values.

Kahramanmaras offers a great variety of accommodation opportunities with hotels, ranging between 2-star to 4-star for both domestic and foreign tourists. In terms of transportation, the city has a highway connection with Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, South-Eastern Anatolia and Eastern Anatolia regions. Bus terminal is in the city center and is very easily accessible. Direct flights from İstanbul are operated daily and flights from Ankara may be on different days of week.  Airport is at a distance of 8 km from the city center.

Prominent Places of Interest
Eshab-ı Kehf(Seven Sleepers); Eshab-ı Kehf Cave is believed to have been in the vicinity of Afşin in the Seljuk Period. Seljuk Empire had an Islamic monastery, a small mosque and a madrasa constructed here in the first half of 13th century. The fact that a church had been found during the construction of the complex in the Seljuk Period shows that Anatolian Christians believed their cave friends of had also slept there. 1st International Symposium of Eshab-ı Kehf, held by DOĞAKA in 2012 is considered the most important step taken in the promotion of the region so far. 

Kahramanmaras Castle; The Castle situated on an agglomerate hill in the middle of the city and was used in the Hittite, Roman and Ottoman periods and undergone repairs in various periods.

Hurman Castle; It is situated on the precipice in Marabiz village in Afşin, to the north of Hurman Creek. Its exact date of construction is not known. However; based on its technique, it is believed to have been built in Byzantine Period. There are cisterns and food storages, military shelters and a church in the castle.

Uludaz Ladybeetles; Seven-spotted ladybeetles found in the extensions of the 2.273 meter-high Uludaz Hill of Çimen Mountain, situated in the Kahramanmaras province in the eastern extension, can be seen from 1.500 metres to 2 thousand 271 metres with an extreme intensity in the certain periods of year (August).

Elbistan Pınarbaşı; Picnic area, at the source of Ceyhan River in the Pınarbaşı Neighbourhood of Elbistan county is flooded by nature lovers, especially in the summer months, with its boiling waters and green vegetations.

Ilıca Thermal Springs: On the foothill of Mount Berit, situated at a distance of 72 km from Kahramanmaras, Ilıca Thermal Springs, is recently among important tourism areas in our province, especially with its nature. 

Ekinözü Mineral Springs: Ekinözü Mineral Springs, situated at a distance of 2 km from Ekinözü town center and emerging at 3 different locations, which are very close to each other, hosts many visitors from surrounding cities, particularly from the Southeast and East Anatolia regions.

Other Must-See Attractions

• Kahramanmaras Museum, Kahramanmaras Castle
• Grand Bazaar, Ulu Mosque and Taş Madrasa
• Kapıçam Natural Park, Başkonuş and Yavşan Plateaus
• Menzelet Dam and Ali Cliff
• Döngel Caves, Yeşilgöz
• Hançere Valley, Göksun

Kahramanmaras is one of the most important provinces of Turkey in terms of underground and ground sources. Streams and dam lakes in the vicinity of Kahramanmaras are among the indicators showing that the province is in fact a realm of water.

Hydroelectric
The fact that 190 km of Ceyhan River, whose total length is 425 km, is within the provincial borders of Kahramanmaras and this river flows through narrow and deep valleys has created favorable conditions for the construction of hydroelectric power plants and a total of 14 dams, the first of which, Ceyhan HES which started power generation in 1958, have been built on this river and the construction of other 7 major projects is still continuing. With the completion of projects, hydroelectric power of the city will reach approximately 800 megawatts.

Lignite
The province is also very rich in terms of mining. Such mines as lignite, tile, limestone, barite, iron, chrome and manganese are the prominent ones. There are a total of 3,25 billion tons of lignite in the basin within the borders of Afşin and Elbistan counties of Kahramanmaras. In terms of meeting the growing energy demands of our country and also with its more economic stripping/ lignite rate compared to other lignite sites, lignite basin of Afşin-Elbistan is a site that should be evaluated first. Currently, Afşin-Elbistan (A) thermal plant with a power of 4 x 344 mW has been operating since 1984 in the basin which has a capacity to meet the fuel demands of 16 thermal plant units which have 344 Mw of power. Afşin-Elbistan (B) thermal plant which has 4 x 360 mW power is among the facilities producing our country’s energy with domestic resources since 2005.

The importance of the region has increased even more with intergovernmental negotiations between Turkey and the several countries regarding the construction of energy power plant with a capacity of  8 thousand MW in Afşin-Elbistan coal field at the beginning of 2013. The construction of new thermal plants is projected with an investment of 12 billion $ within the scope of the negotiations. Thanks to the project, about 15 thousand people will be employed during the construction period and approximately 8 thousand 500 will be directly employed during the operation period. Such subsidiary industries, such as thermal power plant equipment, lignite and mining technologies are expected to develop after termination of the projects.

Despite the global crises on a global scale, Kahramanmaras tends to increase its economic performance it has showed in recent years and the level of exports but it has foreign trade deficit in line with the general trend of Turkey. Kahramanmaras exhibited exports performance of $ 754 million and 1,037 million $’ worth of imports in 2012.

Considering the exports data of 2012 on the basis of product groups, it can be seen that textile and textile raw materials exports rank first.

Iron and non-ferrous metals and ready-to-wear and apparel products follow textile and textile raw materials.

Companies, active in Kahramanmaras, export products to many new markets like Italy, Brazil and the Middle Eastern Countries. Kahramanmaras exported to  a total of 101 countries in 2012.

Top 10 Countries, to which of Exports were made in 2012 ($)

Source: Turkish Exporters Assembly 

Footwear in Kahramanmaras is traditional. Leather flat-heeled shoe is totally produced by hand and lately is used mainly by Holywood.

SMEs are wide in hand craft production of foot wear. Not only traditional hand-crafted shoes are produced in Kahramanmaras but also fancy women shoes are designed and produced as well.

Some facts about footwear production.