Tehran, Sept. 22-- Export of carpets and handicrafts in the first five months of the year was 55 percent ahead of the target set in the Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2000-05), IRNA reported from Tehran.
Iran's Customs Administration said in a report, a copy of which was made available to IRNA on Saturday, that carpet and handicrafts sector had been less successful than other sectors in hitting the Third Five-Year Plan's targets.
Based on the report, more than 15,000 tons of handicrafts, worth dlrs 201 million, were exported in the first five months of the year. Meanwhile, export of over 14,000 tons of handicrafts and carpets in the same period last year, earned the country dlrs 200 million.
Each ton of handicrafts was sold for dlrs 13,137, showing a 6.1 percent decrease compared to the same period the previous year. Carpets and handicrafts had a share of 0.3 and 9.8 percent in terms of weight and value respectively in the country's total non-oil exports in the said period, registering an increase of 0.1 percent in terms of weight and a decrease of 2.1 percent in terms of value compared to the similar period last year.
Hand-woven carpets with a share of 88 percent in non-oil exports in the period in terms of value was among major commodities exported in the period. The export of hand-woven carpets in the period fetched the country dlrs 176 million.
Export of hand-woven carpets recorded decreases of 9.9 and 4.2 percent in terms of weight and value compared to the figures for the same period the previous year.
Based on the report, each kilogram of the hand-woven carpets earned the country dlrs 27 on average in the first five months of the year, showing an eight percent growth, compared to the corresponding period last year.
