TEHRAN – Tens of artisans and exhibitors will put on show handicrafts in a month-long exhibition, which is scheduled to commence on October 12 in a centuries-old caravanserai southwest Iran.

“The exhibition will be held in the historical Moshir al-Molk Caravanserai in Dashtestan county of Bushehr province from the 20th of [the Iranian month of] Mehr to the 20th of Aban,” provincial tourism chief Mohammad-Hossein Arastouzadeh said on Wednesday.

The purpose of holding the event, which will be held in compliance with health regulations, is to boost handicraft sales and to promote such a historical monument to visitors, the official explained. 

The coastal province borders with the Persian Gulf on the west and is bounded by the regions of Hormozgan and Fars on the southeast and east and Khuzestan on the northwest.

With 14 entries, Iran ranks first globally for the number of cities and villages registered by the World Crafts Council, as China with seven entries, Chile with four, and India with three ones come next.

The value of Iran’s handicrafts exports stood at $120 million during the first eleven months of the past Iranian calendar year 1399 (March 20, 2020 – February 18, 2021), Mehr reported. The country’s handicrafts exports slumped during the mentioned months in comparison to the same period last a year earlier due to the damage the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on global trade.

The Islamic Republic exported $427 million worth of handicrafts during the first eleven months of the calendar year 1398. Of the figure, some $190 million was earned via suitcase trade (allowed for customs-free and tax-free transfer) through 20 provinces, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.

AFM