Baku, Azerbaijan, April 18
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran exported over $314.8 million worth of hand-made carpets during the last Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20) which shares about 1 percent of the country's total non-oil exports' value.
The figure indicates a fall by 26.35 percent, compared to the preceding year, the country's ISNA news agency reported on April 18, citing the latest report of the Iranian Customs Administration.
Hand-made carpets ranked 21 in the list of Iranian non-oil exports during the mentioned period.
The country exported its hand-made carpets to some 80 countries during the last calendar year. Germany, UAE, Japan, Lebanon, Italy, the UK, Pakistan, Qatar, Switzerland and Sweden topped the list of the countries which imported Iran's carpets in the mentioned period.
Iran also exported some $51,000 worth of hand-made carpets to the USA.
Deputy Director of Iran National Carpet Center Mojtaba Feuzollahi said on Feb. 17 that European countries account for 48 percent of Iran's total carpet exports.
"Iran still remains the world's top carpet exporter," Feyzollahi said.
There is an estimated population of 1.2 million weavers in Iran producing carpets for domestic markets and international export.
The country produces about 5 million square meters of carpets annually of which 80 percent are sold in international markets.