London, England, June 18, 2007--An association of hand-woven Persian carpet will be established in Madrid, Spain, IRNA reported.
According to IranMania, the decision to set up the association was made in a meeting between Iran?s Ambassador to Spain Davoud Salehi and a number of carpet merchants in the Spanish capital on Friday.
Participants chose eight representatives to follow up the legal process in setting up the association which will seek to support producers, sellers and customers of handmade Persian carpets.
It will also help restore the reputation of Persian rugs in Spain, defend the rights of members and provide expert advice to officials to improve Persian carpets according to customers? taste.
Describing handmade Persian carpet as part and parcel of Iranian art, Salehi vowed the embassy would fully support the promotion of this ?cultural and economic? product.
Experts and tradesmen involved in the Spanish market contend that the association will help remove problems facing Persian carpets in the European country including poor publicity and coordination.
Presently, 60 Iranian carpet shops are active in Spain. No figures are available on amount of their sales.
Suppliers of Persian carpets in Spain have warned that if Iran fails to breathe fresh life into designs, it will lose the market to rivals from India and Pakistan. Emergence of new rivals in recent years has forced some suppliers to change their job.
Over 2,000 active Iranian carpet shops have so far been identified in Europe and the US and the figure is expected to increase to 5,000.
Iran holds a 41-percent share of the global carpet market with export value reaching $400 million in 2006. Currently Iran ranks first in the global carpet market.
Meanwhile, northeastern city of Tabriz, capital of East Azarbaijan province, will host an international exhibition of hand-woven carpet. Leading Iranian and foreign companies will showcase their products at the event to be held from July 12-18.
