Some Turkish manufacturers pause production after Iran gas supplies disrupted (updated)

Kartonsan Karton Sanayi ve Ticaret

24/01/2022 17:45

(Adds industry minister comment)
    ISTANBUL, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Some Turkish manufacturing
companies have halted production temporarily after Iran cut gas
flows last week for up to 10 days due to a technical problem.
    Companies affected include car parts maker Ege Endustri
 EGEEN.IS , cardboard manufacturer Kartonsan  KARTN.IS  and
defence and automotive parts maker Katmerciler  KATMR.IS . 
    Turkey is almost fully dependent on imported gas from
Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, which suspended gas flows to the
country last Thursday, saying there was a technical fault at a
pressure-boosting station in Turkey.
    Ege Endustri said on Monday it will stop output at a factory
until the weekend due to power cuts, and cardboard manufacturer
Kartonsan said it was stopping production until further notice
due to limited gas supply.
    Katmerciler on Sunday said it will halt production during
the electricity cut but that it did not expect the planned cut
to impact business, without elaborating.
    Iran said its gas exports to Turkey had resumed on Friday
but a Turkish official said those supplies were lower than the
required volumes. Turkey has denied that the problem was due to
a fault at a pressure station on its side.
    Turkish authorities have announced planned electricity and
natural gas cuts to large consumers in industrial zones and
electricity-generating power plants due to limited supply from
Iran. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2U11EO
    Turkish Industry Minister Mustafa Varank said that the
manufacturing sector should be able to weather the drop in
production due to power cuts.
    "The industry sector is strong enough to overcome this
period that will last for a few days," Varank said during a
speech at the opening of a furniture fair in Istanbul on Monday.
    Food producers say a planned 72-hour electricity cut to
industrial zones would risk food safety and pose a threat to
goods in storage units.
    "...Cold storage units need electricity. Energy limitations
pose a serious risk to food safety," said the Organic Producers
and Manufacturers Union, requesting an exemption from gas and
electricity cuts.
    Iran provided 16% of Turkey's natural gas needs in the first
10 months of 2021, according to the latest official data.
    Energy prices have risen sharply in Turkey, driven by global
increases and a 44% decline in the lira's value against the
dollar last year.
    Electricity prices were raised as much as 125% for
high-demand commercial users this month and by around 50% for
lower-demand households.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2TH048

 (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan; writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; editing
by Daren Butler and Susan Fenton)
 ((ezgi.erkoyun@thomsonreuters.com; +90-212-350 7051; Reuters
Messaging: ezgi.erkoyun.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;))