TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s handicraft exports has increased by 36 percent since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2015) compared to the same period in the previous year, said Bahman Namvar-Motlaq, the deputy director of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization (CHTHO).

However, he did not reveal the exact value of handicrafts exported during the mentioned period of time.

In April 2015, Namvar-Motlaq announced that Iran exported 500 million dollars of handicraft in the past Iranian calendar year.

“I hope that the handicraft industry would continue booming after the Western-led sanctions against the country are lifted,” he said on Monday.

He said that the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization (CHTHO), does its best to improve the handicraft industry.

“We are focusing on export and trade rather than production in the field of handicraft these days,” he said.

The value of Iran’s annual handicraft exports is forecast to rise to one billion dollars, he announced.

During the meeting, he also proposed registration of more Iranian cities as World Crafts City in the coming year.

On September 5, 2015, the World Crafts Council declared Isfahan and Tabriz as global cities of handicraft and carpet weaving.

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