Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 5 / Trend F.Mehdi/
Asia was the main destination for Iranian hand-made carpets during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-November 20, 2012), accounting for 49 percent of the exports, ISNA quoted National Iranian Carpet Center's Deputy Director Mojtaba Fayzollahi as saying.
Europe, U.S., and Africa ranked the next with 39 percent, six percent, and six percent shares from the exports, respectively, he added.
Hand-made carpet exports amounted to $304 million during the eight-month period, Fayzollahi noted.
He referred to Germany, UAE, Japan, Lebanon, and Qatar as the main targets for Iranian carpets.
In September 2012, Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said that Iran is currently exporting carpets to 80 countries of the world despite all the sanctions targeting Iran's economic sector.
Iran has developed plans to export as much as $1 billion worth of carpets in the current calendar year, he noted.
According to the Iranian Customs Administration data, last year carpet exports rose by 0.8 percent in value, but decreased by 15.4 percent in weight, compared to the year before.
Iran exported over $560 million worth of handmade carpets in last calendar year, accounting for some 24 percent of the world's total carpet trade.
