BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 4
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
The volume of handmade carpets in Iran increased by 34 percent during the 10 months of the current Iranian year (from March 20, 2020, through January 19, 2021), compared to the same period last Iranian year, Director of the National Carpet Center of Iran Farahnaz Rafe said, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran.
The director said that 1.87 million square meters of carpets were woven in Iran in 10 months. While in the same period last Iranian year, 1.23 million square meters of carpets were woven in Iran.
Rafe added that 42 percent of the carpets were woven for trade (wholesale) during this period. Also, 19 percent of the woven carpet was a large size, 16 percent – small size, 9 percent – pictorial carpet, 8 percent – gabbeh, as well as 6 percent was woven from full silk.
"The exports of handmade carpets in Iran increased by 16.4 percent during the first 9 months of the current Iranian year (March 20 through December 20, 2020), compared to the same period last Iranian year," he stressed.
The director noted that Iran exported 2,760 tons of handmade carpets within 9 months. However, 2,360 tons of carpets were exported in the same period last Iranian year.
According to Rafe, more than 2 million people in Iran engage in carpet weaving. About 60 percent of them are sustainable, 31 percent are seasonal carpet weavers. Moreover, 9 percent of them engage in carpet weaving as an additional job.