Tag: Fereshteh Dastpak

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).

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.

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

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.”