TEHRAN – Associations of Iranian handicraft and hand-woven carpet exporters are set to form a consortium in a bid to explore new ways of sales and marketing, CHTN reported on November 7.

The consortium will make its debut this week at the headquarters of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO), said Pouya Mahmoudian who presides over the CHTHO exports department.

Based on official statistics, Iran exported $89 million of hand-woven carpets during the first four months of the present Iranian calendar year, showing an increase of 3.7 percent in terms of value. Handicrafts exports hit a record high over the same period with 45.4 percent growth in contrast to the same period a year earlier.

AFM/MQ/MG