Baku, Azerbaijan, July 16
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran has exported over $57 million worth of hand-made carpets in the first quarter of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21 - June 20), which indicates an increase by 23 percent compared to the same period of preceding year.
Iranian Custom Administration's latest monthly report suggests that some 1000 tonnes of hand-made carpets were exported during the period.
The head of Iran National Carpet Center, Hamid Kargar confirmed the Custom Administration's statistics, expressing hope that the hand-made carpet industry will overcome the recent year's slump, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on July 16.
The figure stood at $314 million in the last Iranian fiscal year (ended on March 20) which was the lowest value in recent years, Kargar underlined.
The hand-made carpet exports during the last fiscal year declined by 26.35 percent, compared to the preceding year, according to the Iranian Custom Administration's annual report.
The country exported its hand-made carpets to some 80 countries during the last 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.