IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Spokesperson to Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Ruhollah Latifi says Iran has exported hand-woven carpet worth of $47.9m in the past eight months which shows only $800m decline comparing to the same period last year.

Latifi in an interview with IRNA said that exports of gabbe (a variety of Persian carpet) and hand-woven carpets with soft hair and wool stood at $2.7m in the first eight months while the figure was around $4.1m last year.

He went on to say that exports of other types of hand-woven carpets were also as much as last year’s figure.

Latifi noted that the total value of hand-woven carpets exported by the country in the first eight months last year was around $48.6m while the figure declined for almost $755m and hit $47.9m in the same period.

He blamed the outbreak of COVID-19 and closure of borders for the decline, adding that the decline seems being logical.

He refuted some claims that Iran’s carpet exports have slumped significantly, saying that carpet is a commodity which is sold gradually and repatriation of the earned forex from the exports to the country takes long procedure and for this reason some assumptions have been raised over the considerable decline of Iran carpet exports but the IRICA’s statistics show no significant change in carpet exports.

In order to boost the carpet exports for earning more forex for the country, the government in its next year budget has allocated a budget around 15.5b tomans.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – A member of Tehran Chamber of Commerce believes Iran’s carpet export is in a very bad condition due to several existing problems.

Speaking to ILNA, Mr. Razi Miri said that the current condition because of the Coronavirus has put the people in bad a situation in the target countries for exports, and by the way Iran is currently under the U.S. sanctions and it has problem in trade and transfer of money and transportation.

He added due to these problems, Iran’s exports are currently in a very bad condition. On using method of bartering goods for carpet exports, he said export of carpet and the like goods like traditional goods is not like the export of industrial goods which are in great number. He added it means one consignment of carpet export may value between 10,000 to 20,000 dollars, adding that carpet export can on aggregate have huge amount of turnover but the figure for each individual is not a big number. So this method is not compatible with bartering because importers need a big amount of money and exporter of carpet cannot provide it, he noted.

Miri went on to say that so bartering cannot happen in this case and this issue creates many problems for exporters of carpet.

On the effects of volatile forex rate in the market, he said the rise and fall of the dollar rate not only is a disaster for the carpet exporter but also for all exporters.

Miri stated that this is the worst condition for an exporter who does not know his future of trade.

Touching upon the condition of carpet producers and exporters, he said the condition is very bad because carpet is not a basic commodity and it is considered a luxurious commodity. He said in normal condition, the target markets can help the industry but currently due to the coronavirus pandemic, all of the target markets are in bad condition, and by the way Iran is under sanctions and traders have problem for trade with the target markets especially in transfer of money and transportation.

Miri concluded his words by saying that the carpet export condition is currently very bad.

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Ehsan Mohammadi, a designer and expert in the field of Iranian handicrafts, added: “Previously, countries such as China, Turkey, Afghanistan, despite copying the design of Iranian handmade carpets, have not been successful in the global market of this valuable Iranian art.”

He said: “Handmade carpets are the heritage of 2,500 years of Iran and the reason for the failure of others is that this “ art-industry ” flows in the blood of Iranian carpet weavers and is unattainable.

The Iranian designer emphasized that what makes the works of Iranian artists different from the productions of other countries is its originality, and he specified: From the producer of dye and yarn as raw materials to the designers and painters and finally the Iranian weaver, all of them are the inheritors of this irreplaceable art-industry from previous generations which  the most advanced educational centers in the world are not able to compete with this education from generation to generation.

The last circle completing the introduction of this original Iranian” art-industry ” to the world are well-known Iranian merchants who by offering Persian handmade carpets, really export the rich Iranian culture to the world.” He pointed out that Iranian merchants are known in the world markets for the values of Persian hand-woven carpets, and said: “These days, there is unpleasant news about the betrayal of some of these merchants to the most original and valuable Iranian art, which is unfortunate.” The economic activist and exporter of Iranian handicrafts said: “Unfortunately, some Iranian traders have joined their Chinese counterparts and export the handicrafts of this country, all of which have been copied, under the name of Persian carpet to other countries.”

He continued: “These traders have gained credit due to years of supply of Persian handmade carpets in export markets, and today they are abusing this credit to betray the first” art-industry “and the 2,500-year-old heritage of Iran. Mohammadi explained that he believes that after a while, this scam will be exposed and those Chinese copied carpet and handicrafts will be discredited.

He added: The Chinese produce duplicated carpets at a much lower price than Persian Carpet by using cheap labor and raw materials. The Iranian designer stressed that cheap prices are initially pleasing to the market: “But in the long run, exposing the fact that these carpets are not prestigious Persian Carpet will create a wave of mistrust against Iranian traders.”

He added: “Before it is too late and the credibility of our country’s first” art-industry ” is damaged, government officials and private sector activists must take a stand against this behavior and inform the target export markets of this scam. Mohammadi concluded: “Protecting the credibility of Persian Carpet is the duty of all Iranians and negligence in this regard is not forgivable.

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