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Exports of Iranian hand-woven carpets rise by 21.7%

Head of Iran National Carpet Center (INCC) Fereshteh Dastpak said Mon. that $ 100 million worth of handmade carpets has been exported during the first four months of the Iranian year (beginning on March 21).

Exports of Iranian hand-woven carpets rise by 21.7%

Speaking to reporters few days before 27th National Hand-Woven Carpets exhibition kicks off in Tehran, Fereshteh Dastpak said “during this period (first four months of Iranian year), a total of 1,983 tons of handmade carpets have been exported to foreign markets.”

She said that last year, 5,400 tons of carpets worth $ 425 million were exported, indicating 17.9% increase compared to the year before, during which 5.741 tons valued at $ 359 million had been exported.

The INCC chairwoman also said that the exports of handmade carpets to the United States had doubled and added “during the first four months last year, $ 21 million worth of handmade carpets was exported to United States, while this amount reached $ 38 million during the same period this year.”

Last year, $ 126 million worth of carpets was exported to the United States, and its share of the total Iranian carpet exports was 29.7%.

She said that Germany, Lebanon, Britain and Japan – after the United States – imported the largest portions of Iranian handmade carpets and added that Germany imported $ 57.5 million of Iranian carpet last year, indicating 13.6% of the carpet exports .

According to her, last year, Lebanon imported $ 30 million, Britain $ 23.4 million, and Japan imported $ 23.1 million handmade carpets from Iran, accounting for 7.1 percent, 5.5 percent and 5.5 percent of Iran’s carpets exports, respectively.

The 27th National Hand-woven Carpets Exhibition will kick off on August 25 and will run until August 31 at Tehran International Permanent Fairground located in the north of the capital.

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Ankara hosts Iranian carpets’ exhibition

A special carpet exhibition aimed to introduce Iranian culture and handicraft is being held at Ankara’s Panora Mall, Turkey.

Ankara hosts Iranian carpets' exhibition

The 10-day exhibition displays 24 hand woven rugs and pictorial carpets, the designs of which inspired by nature, Koranic verses and Iranian nomad’s culture and life style.

There is also an Iranian artist present at the center who weaves a carpet live and explains different process and aspects of making rugs.

On the sideline of this exhibition, a group of musicians perform traditional Iranian music for visitors.

Iranian hand-woven carpets are exported to 80 different countries, with US being one of the leading markets by a total share of 30 percent. The value of this export was around $424 million in the past Iranian fiscal year, corresponding to March 2017 – March 2018. This is while following US President Donald Trump decision to withdraw from Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US Treasury Department announced it had revoked licenses to trade in Iranian carpets.

Some 2.5 million Iranians are making a living from producing and trading carpets and the country’s carpet industry plays the biggest role in employment in rural areas, said the head of Iran National Carpet Center (INCC) Fereshteh Dastpak on July 16, adding, “Countries such as China, Nepal, India and Pakistan have made a lot of efforts and investments in hand-made carpets, but Iran is still out of their reach in producing and exporting this product.”

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Iran, Russia to remove barriers to handmade carpets export

Head of Russia-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce Vladimir Obidnov called for holding a specialized exhibition of Iranian hand-woven carpets in Russia.

Iran, Russia to remove barriers to handmade carpets export

During the meeting with head of Iran’s National Carpet Center Hamid Kargar and officials of Iran National Carpet Center, Obidnov pointed to the Russia’s interest in the Iranian hand-woven carpets, asking for holding a specialized exhibition of Iranian hand-woven carpets in Russia.

“The issues related to the temporary import of Iran’s carpet to Russia can be solved through talks and implementation of executive approaches,” he noted.

He expressed the hope that the first exhibition of Iranian hand-woven carpet would be held in Russia in October or December, 2017.

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Iran exports $84mn Persian carpet to US

 Industry Minister Nematzadeh said Iran’s exports of hand-woven carpets to the US was $84mn in the previous year indicating a significant growth compared to the figure for the year before which only stood at $2.7mn.

Iran exports $84mn Persian carpet to US

During a visit to Iran National Carpet Center, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh pointed to the President’s order on boosting production and employment saying “over the past year, great efforts were made to connect the Iranian industry to the global one including international contracts in the auto industry which need to be extended to other fields like the carpet industry.”

He said carpet exports suffered poor conditions during sanction years stating “the process has been fortunately facilitated though all barriers faced by producers and exporters need to be removed.”

“Unique features of Persian hand-woven carpet offer great opportunities for sustainable production and employment,” highlighted Nematzadeh adding “the knowledge for production of Iranian carpets needs to be transferred to the younger generations as well as that local markets should become strengthened in line with exports.”

He deemed it as necessary to hold business and commercial courses for carpet weavers; “inscribing Persian hand-woven carpets on the national and international lists of cultural heritage proves valuable only when it prevents fraud and increases exports.”

“Increased value added in manufacturing carpets should be the main priority in order to promote economy, production and employment as well as to make successful and dynamic presence in international markets,” he concluded.

Also during the visit, Head of Iran National Carpet Center Hamid Karegar said 350 million dollar of Iranian hand-woven carpets were deployed to various countries.

“America, Germany, Lebanon, UAE, Pakistan, Japan, Britain, Qatar, South Africa and Australia were the top ten costumers of Persian carpet in the previous year with the American taking the lead in imports of the product from Iran,” he continued.

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Baradaran-e Ziadi Carpet Company

Baradaran-e Ziadi Carpet Company has an outstanding experience in the business of handmade carpet production and export for 22 years.  We made an interesting interview with Mr. Ziadi, General Manager of the company.

Q:   Please give us an insight about activities of Baradaran-e Ziadi Carpet Company.

A:  We have been in this business for 22 years.  Our main policy has been to identify customer desires and needs in order to find the best way to satisfy them.  We are always up-to-date about market trends and give top priority to be present at international exhibitions.

We are strong in carpet design, natural color selection, and skillful carpet weaving in Iran.  We are fully equipped for producing top quality handmade carpets.  We only have to work hard on identifying market taste.  Many producers believe the more delicate the carpet, the easier it will sell.  I think successful carpet sales depend on three key factors: color, color, and color.

I believe that customers highly value color combination of carpets.  They match carpet color scheme to their house decoration before looking to carpet design.  Carpet color combination should match their furniture, wall paint or covering, curtains, and other household fixtures.  We have taken advantage of our capacity to produce carpet in variety of color schemes for international markets.

Communication media keep producers fully informed about rapid changes in customer needs and expectations forcing them to modify their carpet patterns every six months to offer new collections to the market.  Producers who fail to keep up with market trends rapidly lose their competitive edge.

We have carpet production in locations that are well-known for their high quality, original design, and skillful weavers, including Azerbaijan and Varzaquan.  We have Gabbeh production in many parts of Iran.

Every Iranian city has its own patterns, color schemes, and traditional design.  Each one of these can have its own market.  Therefore, we have no limit for where we have our carpet production.

Carpet production in rural areas is different from large production facilities.  Because, a rural producer ties love, simplicity, purity, and natural beauty with every tie she makes to the carpet.

In spite of duplicate copies made by other countries, Iranian carpet still stands out because of using top quality materials such as Iranian wool, vegetable colors, and silk.  Vegetable color is the exceptional feature of our carpet production.

Q:   What are the features of a good carpet design?

A:   A carpet weaver should never worry about design.  All she has to do is to look around and observe the beauty of mountains covered by flowers in natural surroundings spread out in a plain before her.  I believe every view and color combination can turn into a beautiful carpet.  Carpet is not just a woven material.  It has its own identity and life.

In a recent trip to a rural area in Azerbaijan for Gabbeh I was asked for design and pattern.  I asked a weaver’s child to draw me a painting on a piece of paper.  I gave this drawing to my weavers and asked them to produce the same pattern for me.  I believe a carpet should be full of feelings.

Q:   how important is to participate in international exhibitions?

A:   I believe a handmade carpet company should have a strong presence in international exhibitions in order to get a feel for the market.  Our highest sales volume in exhibitions comes from patterns that have been made based on market interests.

Creation of every employment in industry costs about $50.000.  An employment in handmade carpet industry is costs much less.  Ziadi Carpet Company presently employees 170 families in its carpet production.

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Hamid Kargar: Persian carpets remain unrivaled

Despite domestic issues and international barriers to trading Iranian hand-woven carpets, Persian rugs are still frontrunners in the global market, according to the head of Iran’s National Carpet Center, Hamid Kargar.

“Iran accountsfor more than 30% of global carpet trade and its rivals, including India, Pakistan and Turkey, rank after Iran,” the Persian daily Ta’adol quoted the official as saying on Saturday.

Kargar noted that the Persian carpet is not only a top-ranking global commodity in terms of exports, but is also a brand that draws global attention to its quality, history and diversity.
“In Iran, there are many regions where carpet-weavers produce unique brands of rugs,” Kargar said, highlighting the competitive advantages of Iranian carpet-weavers over their competitors.
Iran has 1 million carpet weavers, of whom 289,000 are active in Isfahan Province. More than 1,000 tons of hand-woven carpets worth $21 million were exported from Isfahan last Iranian year (March 2014-15).
Its handmade rug exports during the period showed an 8% rise compared to the previous year, which, according to Kargar, was “the worst year” in the past decade in terms of Iran’s hand-woven carpet exports.
Although over the past decade, Iran has exported an average of $500 million worth of hand-woven carpets annually, exports of the product dropped to $314 million two years ago due largely to sanctions imposed on Iran for its nuclear energy program.

American Market

As part of an act ratified in September 2010, the United States, the biggest buyer of Iranian hand-woven carpets then, imposed a ban on their import among other products.
Before imposing direct sanctions on imports of Iranian hand-woven carpet, the US imported more than $82 million worth of Iranian carpets every year, accounting for 16.5% of Iran’s total annual carpet exports.
“Since 2010, we lost one-fifth of our exports … However, we expect Americans to welcome Persian carpets again because of its unique designs and colors,” Kargar said.
Hopes for regaining lost markets rose among carpet exporters as Iran clinched a historic deal with the world powers, namely France, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and the United States, on July 14 in Vienna to bring a 12-year nuclear standoff to a halt. The Vienna pact caps Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions in the upcoming months.
With sanctions-relief on the horizon, carpet traders are eying a return to the American market where the demand for this product is still high. According to Kargar, an American trade delegation is set to visit Tehran in late January or February 2016 to discuss purchasing Persian hand-woven carpets.
“The delegation will include traders, carpet researchers, writers and journalists. The visit will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Iran’s hand-woven carpet industry,” he said.
In fact, the industry has already showed signs of improvement as a result of the government’s efforts to improve relations with the world in the past two years since President Hassan Rouhani took office.
More than 5,000 tons of hand-woven carpets worth $330 million were exported last Iranian year, indicating a 2.7% increase in value compared to a year before.
“The increase is a welcome sign,” Kargar said. “However, we expect exports to rise much higher to $500 million a year, once we reenter the American market.”

Growing Markets

Besides the United States, carpet traders are also expecting a rise in exports to countries that have recently joined Iranian carpet export destinations.
There are two types of markets for Iranian hand-woven carpet, Kargar points out. The first group includes traditional buyers that have known and imported the product for a long time. European countries led by Germany, some Arab states such as Lebanon along with the United States fall in this category.
On the other hand, China, Russia, South Africa and Brazil among some other countries have started importing since only a few years ago, he says, adding that exports to these markets have also been on the rise.
In order to boost exports, Kargar notes that there are issues besides sanctions that have been holding back the sector in the past few years, which need to be resolved.
High inflation, hike in raw material prices and transportation costs, saturation of traditional carpet markets and a shift in customers taste, according to Kargar, are among those issues.

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Annual production of 85 million Sqm of machine made carpet in Alsorayai Company

Alsorayai Company of Saudi Arabia and annual production of 85 million Sqm of machine made carpet

Saudi Arabia has experienced very good development within the last recent years in such a manner that this country was able to increase the ratio of its non petroleum export to the level of its oil export and this issue is a big success for Saudi Arabia. In addition to industrial investment, this country is possessing high potential in the religious tourism section in such a manner that this country is hosting number of pilgrimages per annum in the cities of Mecca and Madina. In Saudi Arabia, considering the high volume of construction in the administrate, commercial, hotel construction, the market of carpet and flooring  is very considerable. Saudi Arabia is possessing powerful manufactures in machine made carpet and Tufting which response the main section of demand of local market and also planning to export the products to Europe and U.S.A. We have performed a short interview with Mr. Saleh Naser Alsorayai, Managing Director of this company. This company is producing about 85 million Sqm of types of machine made carpets and tufting. It is to be noted that this interview is performed in the stand of this company at Demotex fair 2013.

In the beginning, please give more explanation about the last product displayed by the Alsorayai group.

This year we have fully concentrated on the contractual markets and high volume of contract market and most products, consumable in these markets like carpet tiles and wall to wall carpets, which the demand is under development with medium and high qualities.

We, considering the importance of design presented wide range of new designs

Alsorayai company is active in the export markets. At present our warehouse in Europe and U.S.A are responding some of the market demand and able to have a good export in countries needing our products.

 

 

 

Saudi companies like your company recently besides the production of carpet show a special concentration on the production of carpet yarn and carpet backing.

What is your opinion about these markets in Europe and U.S.A?

In the yarn production section as mentioned good investments were performed in Saudi Arabic in Alsorayai company and of course other big companies. At present the main portion of production of yarn of our carpet is used by our weaving units and approximately 30% is exported. One of our main characteristic in the production of carpet yarn is very easy accessibility and with competitive prices to the raw materials of carpet yarn which is produced by SABIC company of Saudi Arabia and this cause to more added value. With the interments carried out, at present Alsorayai company is possessing 12 extruder lines, 50 tufting carpets production machines and 30 face to face carpet weaving machines.

With these facilities we are able to produce 85 million Sqm of types of carpets. Most of our products made of polypropylene carpet yarn because SABIC is providing this chop to us with very reasonable price.

 

What is your opinion about carpet and flooring industry in the Middle East?

In my opinion, future in the Middle East region is very hopeful especially considering new construction in the region, the market is increasing. Especially in Saudi Arabic the construction of new hotels, airports and new office and commercial complexes, has opened a wide range of market for carpet producers. In Qatar due to inauguration of world cup, hotels and wide range of infrastructures under construction, all needs of carpet and parquet is provided. Also, there is a good market in Mecca where there is more construction with high quality every year.

 

 

 

 

Considering the wide export, how you estimate the demand of various places throughout the world from the viewpoint of color and design?

As mentioned, considering the various export markets, Alsorayai company is possessing a powerful designing team, we have very good communication and contact with the European, American and Far East Designing Societies. These communications besides professional designers creates the estimation of various demand for us.

Because every market having deferent demand and style. For this reason we are searching the market demand.

 

Whether presence of various international fairs provides better accessibility to the customer for you?

Certainly, for Alsorayai company fairs like Demotex Hanover, Demotex Shanghai, Fair of Las Vegas and Gaziantep of Turkey is very important and we are trying to have active participation in these events.

Interview  with Mr. Saleh Nasser Alsorayai

Managing Director of Alsorayai Machine Made Carpet Company of Saudi Arabia.

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Setareh Kavir Yazd Group

Setareh Kavir Group has been able to bypass the embargo imposed on Iran and resolve many ensuing production problems it has faced during the 30 years of its operation by relying on creative properties of its employees and their progressive attitude.

Setareh Kavir Yazd Group

Setareh Kavir Group is a machine-made carpet producer who has been able to introduce its brand name carpets in domestic and international markets.  Setareh Kavir Group presently enjoys a commendable position in domestic and international markets thanks to the quality of its carpets.

Setareh Kavir Group is celebrating its fourteenth attendance in Domotex Exhibition in Germany which is acclaimed as the largest international event for textile industry.

On receiving the 2011 award as a recognized Iranian exporter in textile industry, we interviewed Mr. Ahmad Sadeghian, General Manager of Setareh Kavir Group of Yazd, to hear his story.

Q:   Setareh Kavir Group has been actively pursuing export of machine made carpets to difficult international markets such as Germany and Japan.  Please explain about the export-oriented production program at Setareh Kavir Group.

A:   The art and science of producing carpets belong to Iran and Iranians.  That is the reason for international recognition of Iranian carpet.  Iranian carpet enjoys the highest quality when compared with competing products without any prejudice.

Setareh Kavir Group strongly believes in the quality of Iranian carpet.  So, it has equipped itself to prove it to the international markets.  We maintain an export oriented policy in our production rogram.  We believe we export Iranian arts, culture, and love with every carpet we ship to our target international markets.  We have proved this during our 30 years of market presence.  When a carpet is laid down in someone’s home, it represents the culture of the producing country.  The owner is reminded of the Iranian arts and culture by every look at the Iranian carpet.  No numbers or figures can fully explain our joy and proud in exporting our carpets.

Production and export of carpets or any other products shall meet the needs, desires, and expectations of the target markets.  Our extensive investment and research on export enables us to directly obtain the information on customer needs in order to produce accordingly.  This policy is the key to our successful export.

The important point to consider in carpet design and color scheme is paying attention to customer preferences in color, design, and workmanship.  Setareh Kavir Group considers these points to guarantee its success in export markets.  Nevertheless, every export market demands different design, color combination, and workmanship.

Expert design is one advantage of Iranian carpet industry.  Iran is proud of having mastered carpet design and we take the most advantage of this expertise.

Q:   Please tell us about capabilities and facilities of Setareh Kavir Group.

A:   Setareh Kavir Group has five production facilities in Yazd, namely, Setareh Kavir Carpet, Khaterh Kavir Carpet, Yazd Dying, Yazd Yarns, and Yazd Textiles.  These production facilities are equipped with the latest machinery and employ 5000 workers.  Setareh Kavir Group is capable of producing the most delicate carpets at exceptional quality.

Setareh Kavir Group has been on the foreground in carpet research and development (R & D) thanks to its expert employees.  Setareh Kavir Group pursues a policy of continued presence in top international carpet and floor covering exhibitions to maintain its market position in highly competitive markets.  Setareh Kavir Group participated in Domotex exhibitions in Russia and Germany during 2012.

Our factories take granule and raw materials for carpet yarn production as input, and produce packaged quality carpet as output.  The advantages of have a complete production line are quality control of the final product and lower production costs.  These two are the important factors for success in international market and give unique advantage to Setareh Kavir Group.

Q:   What were the reasons for selection of Setareh Kavir Group as recognized exporter of Iranian textile industry?

A:  Many factors helped us to receive this recognition.  The most important of them are: perseverance, export-oriented production, high quality products, keen attention to color combination and design, plus strong presence in international exhibitions.

Setareh Kavir Group exports carpet to international market everywhere in the world, including Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, and even China.  Penetrating markets such as Japan and China have been difficult and time consuming.  We do not produce before carrying out market research, because, we would have a blind production, otherwise.