TEHRAN - Iran has devised a barter system with the goal of securing its carpet exports, the head of Iran National Carpet Center said on Sunday.

Fereshteh Dastpak told IRNA that according to the barter mechanism, countries which export goods to Iran will receive carpets instead of foreign currency.

Referring to hurdles in the way of banking transactions as a result of the U.S. sanctions, she said “with the assistance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we are intending to remove carpet exports from the list of sanctions.”

 She went on to say that the U.S. is the largest export market for Iranian carpets, holding a share of 30 percent from total carpet exports. “There are groups in the U.S. which are seeking to exempt the Iranian carpet from the sanctions,” she added.

According to IRNA, Iran exported 5,400 tons of hand-woven carpets valued at $425 million in the previous Iranian calendar year (March 2017-March 2018).

Iran exported $126 million of carpets to the U.S. last year, but the figure is expected to reach zero over the next months in the wake of the sanctions.

Germany, Lebanon, Britain, and Japan stand next to the U.S. as the main buyers of Iranian carpet.

MG