TEHRAN (Iran News) – Head of Association of Handmade Carpet Sellers says the exports of handmade carpets have declined by 85% and the markets for exports have been narrowed.

Masoud Sepehrzad said that sanctions have put carpet traders in an uneven war and has deprived Iran of promoting its carpets which is considered as the second flag of the country in the foreign markets. He noted that exporters of carpet face problems for attending exhibitions in Europe and Germany did not issue license for their presence in an exhibition in Germany.

He then pointed to the fluctuation in the forex market and its effect on the handmade carpet market and said that the handmade carpet market is chaotic and producers and sellers do not have any willing for trade because they do not know how much they will have to pay for providing raw materials for their next production, adding that the price of dollar should be stabilized in a way that the sales, production and exports could be fixed based on it.

He reiterated that the commanding measures of the government for controlling the forex price could not solve the problem and in the current condition purchase of carpet is not a priority for the people and people are more concerned about their basic needs.

Sepehrzad added that the handmade carpet market is experiencing almost 80% recession adding that exports of this product have declined by 85% and each week one or two consignments are exported while in the past exporters used to stand in the lines in the customs offices for getting licenses for exporting their carpets.

He added that rivals of Iran like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey have define a certain direction in the carpet market and continue it and all markets in the world are open for their producers while the markets for Iranian carpet producers are limited and sanctions have put Iranian carpet traders in an uneven war as they are unable to promote the carpets which are considered as the second flag of the country in the foreign markets and Iranian carpet traders face problems for attending exhibitions in Europe.

He added that officials urge carpet traders to focus on Eurasian markets and Venezuela but those markets do not show any interest to carpets and major buyers of Iranian carpets are from Europe, the U.S. and Arab countries.