Azernews.Az

Iran has earned about $400 million in 11 months of the current calendar year (started on March 21) for exporting domestically made carpets to various countries, IRNA news agency reported.

The director of Iran's National Carpet Center, Mohammad Bagher Alikhani said that Iran earned the above mentioned revenue of carpet exports to 70 countries.

Speaking at the carpet exhibition in Iran's Kerman province, Alikhani noted that Iran's target market for carpet exports divides mostly between Asian and European countries.

"45 percent of overall carpet exports went to Asian countries, 43 percent to the European countries," he said.

He said further that Iran is currently exporting its carpets to China and Brazil, while possibilities of exports to South Africa and Vietnam are being considered.

Alikhani, who is also the country's Industry, trade and mines deputy minister, said that Iran's most important competition in the carpet exporting field are India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan and China.

He also added that about 8 million people in Iran (about 10 percent of the overall population) are involved in the carpet industry in the country.

In February, the managing director of the Iran Handmade Carpet Producers Cooperative, Abdollah Bahrami said that Iranian handmade carpet exports showed a 17 percent decrease in the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year in comparison to the same period of the last year.

Iran exported $500 million worth of handmade carpets last year.

According to the Customs Administration data, carpet exports last year rose by 0.8 percent in value, but decreased by 15.4 percent in weight compared to its preceding year.

Iran's carpet exports accounted for some 24 percent of the world's total carpet trade in the previous Iranian calendar year which ended March 19, 2012.