Structural Analysis of Forest Product Businesses in GümüşhaneProvince

In total, 95% of all business enterprises established in Turkey are micro-scale, and this figureincreases to 98.6% in the forest products industry. Micro-scale enterprises are important in terms ofproduction, employment, and overcoming economic imbalances among regions. The forest productsindustry, which includes three subdivisions within the manufacturing sector, occupies an important placein the overall Turkish manufacturing sector. Thus, this study examined the structural characteristics offorest product enterprises in Gümüşhane Province. The research involved in-person interviews withpersonnel at 47 enterprises. The data revealed that the sawmill division was especially important withrespect to the use of local poplar logs. The sawmill and furniture divisions accounted for 28% of allenterprises and 26% of all employees in the manufacturing sector in Gümüşhane. We found that 57% ofenterprises had difficulty in finding working capital and 55% of enterprises experienced shortages oflabour. The average contribution of each forest products business to employment (2.55) was more thanthat of other manufacturers in Gümüşhane (2.27). The forest product businesses in Gümüşhane resembleother micro-scale enterprises located in other regions of Turkey in terms of their structural properties.