Iranian carpet market needs promotion

Iranian carpet market needs promotion
Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:51:18

Persian carpets

Major Iranian carpet traders warn about the current situation of the country's carpet markets in Europe, seeking ways to promote sales.

In a meeting with the Managing Director of Iran Carpet Joint Stock Co. Jalaleddin Bassam in Paris, traders said high prices have overshadowed Iranian carpets elegant quality.

"Buyers prefer to purchase Pakistan's low-quality commercial carpets, which are three times cheaper than Iranian ones," IRNA quoted traders as saying.

"Iranian commercial carpet only accounts for 10-20 percent of the European carpet market," said one dealer.

Another urged government's financial support in a bid to reduce the cost of Iranian commercial carpets.

Iranian commercial carpets do not come in fashionable colors, and do not meet European consumers taste, traders added.

Bassam, however, dismissed the idea of state subsidies on carpets arguing that the act would result in unrealistic prices.

“The key to improvement of Iranian carpet sales in Europe lies within extensive promotion and advertisement in local European televisions, as well as innovative ways of producing and delivering Iranian carpets,” he concluded.

World's largest carpet to be unveiled by Iran Carpet

World's largest carpet to be unveiled
Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:48:00

Iranians have earned $8.6m from weaving the world's largest carpet measuring 5,627 square meters.
The world's largest and most exquisite hand-woven carpet will be unveiled in Tehran in the near future, a carpet industry official has said.

The Managing Director of the Iran Carpet Joint Stock Company, Jalaleddin Bassam, also said the carpet has been woven by Iranian weavers at the behest of the United Arab Emirates.

The company earned 80 billion rials ($8.6 million) from weaving the world's largest carpet measuring 5,627 square meters.

"It will take us three months to install the carpet in a mosque in Abu Dubai," Mehr news agency quoted Bassam as saying, who added his company has since received dozens of orders from the United Arab Emirates.

"Our company is going to weave 24 carpets and two carpet tableaus measuring a sum of 550 square meters for the UAE with a value of $1 billion," he said.

The official added several Europe-based Iranian merchants have also ordered hand-woven carpets measuring more than 2,000 square meters.

"Receiving orders from abroad will bring prestige and profit for Iranian carpet weavers," he said.

Iran exported $364 million worth of carpets last year but its share of the global carpet market is at risk as India and Pakistan move towards producing low-cost carpets for international buyers.

Iran, Pakistan and India are major carpet producers and produce roughly 43, 26 and 24 percent of the world's carpets respectively.

EB/MR/BGH