Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec.19 /Trend F.Milad/
Iran plans to export handmade carpets worth $1 billion by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2013), showing a 100 percent increase compared to the previous year, deputy head of the National Carpet Center Mohammad-AliZarineh said.
Iran exported handmade carpets worth $500 million last year, the IRIB News Agency quoted Mohammad-AliZarineh as saying.
According to the Customs Administration data, carpet exports last year rose by 0.8 percent in value, but decreased by 15.4 percent in weight, compared to its previous year.
The Iranian industry, mine and trade minister announced in September that Iran is currently exporting carpets to 80 world countries despite all the sanctions targeting Iran's economic sector.
Mehdi Ghazanfari added that USA, Germany, Italy, UAE, Japan and Switzerland are the main targets for Iranian carpets.
According to officials, Iran's carpet export falls in the first half of each year, but grows in the second half.
Iran's carpet exports accounted for some 24 percent of the world's total carpet trade in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended March 19.
...