A total of four million square meters of handwoven Iranian carpets are exported each year to American, European and Persian Gulf littoral states as well as to Japan, China and Russia.
Announcing this, Head of Iran's National Carpet Center Morteza Faraji told IRNA on Sunday that most of the exported carpets are woven in West and East Azarbaijan provinces as well as in Khorasan, Fars and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari.
Commenting on the center's programs to upgrade the industry, Faraji further said that producing films, publishing brochures, holding provincial and national festivals, issuing specification cards for carpets are on the center's agenda.
Revising the standards, training carpet weavers to improve the quality of carpets, using modern technology and paving the way for electronic commerce are among the other undertakings of the institute.
"Carpet is not an industrial goods; rather, it is an artistic and cultural item going back to ancient times," he observed.
Faraji also announced that an exhibition of hand-woven carpets will be held from August 22-28.
The event, which has been warmly welcomed by foreign businessmen, will introduce the Iranian carpet industry better than before, Faraji concluded. --IRNA
