Khaskovo District

an administrative and territorial division in southern Bulgaria, in the Maritsa River basin. Area, 4,000 sq km. Population, 288,000 (1975). The capital is the city of Khaskovo.

The economy of Khaskovo is based on agriculture and industry. Brown coal is mined in the western Maritsa River basin, and lead-zinc ores are mined in the south, near Madzharovo. Of national importance are the chemical, electric power, cement, machine-building, tobacco, and textile industries. The cement industry is concentrated in Dimitrovgrad, one of Bulgaria’s principal centers of heavy industry. The textile industry is represented by the production of silk and rayon textiles, primarily at Khaskovo, Dimitrovgrad, Kharmanli, and Svilengrad. Factories process Oriental varieties of tobacco and manufacture tobacco products. More than one-fourth of the land under cultivation is irrigated. The district produces grains (chiefly wheat and barley), industrial crops (cotton and tobacco), vegetables, melons (including watermelons) and gourds, grapes, walnuts, and mulberries.