Pakistan Prime Rival of Iran in Carpet Market

Tehran, Iran, March 5, 2007--Pakistan is Iran’s main rival in the production and export of hand-woven carpets, according to an expert in exports, according to the Mehr News Agency. Pakistan’s share of world exports of hand-woven carpets was between 10 and 13 percent some years ago but has risen to 24.5 percent in recent years and is still increasing, Hamid-Reza Ansari said in Karaj on Saturday. Meanwhile, Iran’s share has not changed in years and is still 30 percent, he added. The production and export of hand-woven carpets is improving and growing in Pakistan, whereas Iran, with thousands of years of expertise in the field, is lagging behind others now, he lamented. After Pakistan, India captured a 24 percent share of world exports of hand-woven carpets, followed by Nepal at 10.7 percent, China at 10 percent, and Turkey at 10.7 percent. Ansari maintained that holding negotiations with the world’s major importers of hand-woven carpets would be the best way to boost Iran’s exports of the product.

Print the Article