India is currently posing the main challenge to Persian hand-woven carpets, as the country has captured part of the world markets previously dominated by Iran, the chairman of Iran National Carpet Center said.
“Low wages in India are among reasons why Indian handmade carpets are cheaper and therefore, more popular,” Hamid Kargar was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Another reason for the popularity of Indian rugs, according to Kargar, is that they offer customized products based on their client’s tastes.
“The Indians are easygoing when it comes to patterns, designs and colors. This is while Iranians are strict about their traditional and original carpet patterns,” he added.
The official noted that Indian businesspeople in the carpet sector are more successful than their Iranian counterparts because they don’t have to deal with problems related to money transfer.
International economic sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear energy program have hampered Iran’s carpet industry.
With the removal of sanctions as of early 2016 though, as part of the nuclear deal Iran signed with the world powers a year earlier, trade began to normalize.
Some 5,400 tons of hand-woven Persian carpets worth $424 million were exported from Iran in the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2018), registering an increase of 18.11% in value compared to the year before, latest statistics from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration indicate.
Persian hand-woven carpets are exported to about 80 countries.
The United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Lebanon, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Japan are traditional buyers of Iranian carpets.
New customers have emerged in recent years, namely China, Russia, South Africa and some Latin American countries.
According to Kargar, more than 3 million square meters of handmade carpets are annually woven in Iran, two-thirds of which are exported and the rest meets domestic demand.
