Iranian Carpet Industry Exports $450 Million

Tehran, Iran, March 11, 2008--Deputy Commerce Minister Morteza Faraji said on Tuesday that there are 2 million people producing hand-woven carpets in Iran.

Faraji who is also the chief of Iran's National Carpet Center, told IRNA that five million square meters of hand-woven carpets are produced in the country annually.

Moreover, he said hand-woven carpets valued at $450 million were exported last year and the figure is predicted to be the same during the current year.

He added that a maximum loan of $108,000 would be granted to carpet producers to expand carpet industry.

Holding provincial carpet fairs, producing movies about Persian carpets and showing advertisements on foreign TV channels are among the marketing activities taken so far by Iran's National Carpet Center to introduce Iranian hand-woven carpets and encourage foreign countries to buy them, Faraji said