Iran Records 19% Growth in Carpet Exports

Some 4,400 tons of Persian hand-woven carpets worth $275 million were exported from Iran during the 10 months to January 19, registering a 19% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year, the head of Iran’s National Carpet Center said.

“Direct exports to the US accounted for $69 million of the total sum. This is while last year we had no exports to that country,” Hamid Kargar was also quoted as saying by Eranico.

Iran’s carpet exports were hard hit as a result of sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear program.

The United States—the biggest importer of Iran’s handmade rugs—banned the import of Iranian carpets, among other products, in September 2010.

Sanctions were lifted mid-January as part of a landmark nuclear deal the country signed with world powers last year. Iran agreed to limit the scope of its nuclear activities. Now that the sanctions are gone, exports are slowly gaining momentum.