Do crises offer oppportunities? An evaluation of manufacturing industry in Şanlıurfa (Turkey) under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic1

The COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2019 in Wuhan, China, adversely affected social and economic life all over the world. Many scientific studies and reports by international organisations show that particularly industrial activities have declined drastically due to the pandemic. This purpose of the study is to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the manufacturing industry in Şanlıurfa province regarding the number of investment certificates, investment value and the number of jobs created. In this context, industry data of the years prior to and after the year 2019 were obtained from the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology. These data were analysed by qualitative and quantitative methods. According to the findings of the study, there was an increase in the number of investment certificates (37.4%) and the investment value (211.9%) but a decline in the number of jobs created (3.3%) in the manufacturing industry in Şanlıurfa in 2020, compared to 2018. However, in the first half of 2021, the number of investment certificates issued was equivalent to 84.6%, the investment value 175.7%, and the number of added jobs 36.9% of 2018. Reasons such as the economic support measures taken during the pandemic, the incentives that given to the Şanlıurfa province, supplying raw materials within the provincial boundaries have a considerable place in the manufacturing sector in Şanlıurfa to be less affected by the pandemic.