Official: Iraqi Shoppers’ Demand for Iranian Carpet Rising

Iranian Commercial Attaché in Iraq Nasser Behzad said that an estimated $600 million worth of Iranian carpets are expected to be needed in the Arab country by 2020, as the demand for the commodity is rising.

“By 2020, Iraq's market will seek to buy Iranian carpet at an estimated worth of $600 million,” Behzad said, noting that Iran has a share of less than five percent in meeting the Iraqi market’s demand.

Quoted by Iran Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), Behzad added Iraq annually imports about 250 million dollars worth carpets from Turkey, China and Egypt.

Last year, over 5,397,000 tons of Iranian carpets, worth $424.451 million, were exported to more than 70 countries by the US standing on top of the list for importing the Iranian commodity for $126 million, said the Iranian official.

Following in the list, were Germany and Lebanon for importing Iranian carpet for $57.5 million and $30 million dollars respectively, added Behzad.

Germany, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Norway as well as Hungary, Romania, Poland and Ireland are major importers of Iranian carpet.

In Asia, Iraq, Qatar, Turkey, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan and in Africa, Egypt were importers of Iranian carpet in the Iranian calendar year of 1396 (2017-18).

Early in January, it was announced that the Iranian province of Zanjan had exported more than $10.4 million worth of carpets in the first 3 quarters of the current local calendar year (started on March 21, 2018), which marked a 10% rise vis-à-vis corresponding period in the year before.

Head of Industry, Mining and Trade Department of the province Nasser Faqfoori said that Persian Gulf littoral states, Germany, Canada, Russia, Lebanon, Italy and South Africa are the buyers of Persian carpets woven in Zanjan.

Faqfoori noted that Zanjan was eyeing to earn some $12 million from carpet exports by the end of the current year.

A week before that, Deputy Head of Trade Promotion Organizations of Iran for Development of Export Market Hamid Zadboum said that Iran’s non-oil exports have shown a 13% rise in the past 8 months since the start of the new Iranian year (March 21) compared to the same period last year.

source: FARS News Agency