TEHRAN – The 24th Iran Handmade Carpet Exhibition will open today at the Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds.

More than 700 Iranian carpet producers and exporters will participate in the 7-day event, Iran National Carpet Center’s Director Hamid Kargar said.

He added that 17 Iranian merchants living abroad and 54 non-Iranian merchants from China, Japan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, India, Kuwait, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, Russia, Romania, South Africa, the United States, and Uruguay will visit the exhibition.

According to Kargar, Iran’s hand-woven carpet exports stood at $330 million in the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, a jump compared to $114 million in its previous year, showing 5 percent growth.

In March, Kargar said that Persian carpets – as they are internationally known – have been exported to some 80 countries. 

The official further said around 25 percent of Persian carpets used to be exported to the United States. “However, Iran lost that share of the market due to the sanctions implemented.” 

Iran exported $60 million of handmade carpets in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar.

Persian carpets are sought after internationally for their delicate designs and their good quality. The country’s official figures show the carpets have a significant share in Iran’s non-oil exports. 

Iran exports 45 percent of its hand-woven carpets to Asia, 43 percent to Europe and the rest to other continents. The Persian carpet has found several new clients for its carpet that include South Africa, Russia, Brazil, China and Indonesia. 
AK/