Iran exported more than 230 tons of hand-woven carpets worth some $11 million during the first month of the current Iranian year (started March 20), indicating a 107% and 120% growth in volume and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year, the head of Iran National Carpet Center said. “The lion’s share of the exports, amounting to $7 million, headed to the US that has recently reopened its market to hand-woven Persian rugs after the removal of western sanctions against the Islamic Republic in mid-January,” Hamid Kargar was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency. The US, traditionally the biggest buyer of Iranian hand-woven carpets, imposed a ban on carpet imports, among other products, in September 2010. According to Kargar, promising days await Iranian carpet exporters in the post-sanctions era, which they should take advantage of by undertaking smart and targeted advertising.
