MNA � Deputy Head of Iran�s Carpet Center for Economic Affairs Mohammad Mehdi Farshchi said Iran exported $270 million worth of hand-woven carpets during the 8 months of the current Iranian year.


Speaking during a local ceremony in Qazvin on Monday night, Farshchi said the figure shows a 31% hike compared with the similar period of a year before.

Iran exported $290 million hand-woven carpet in 2016, he said, adding the figure rose to $359 million in 2016, rising by 3 percent in terms of weight and and 23 percent in terms of value.

He added 29 countries are�the main buyers of Iran's handmade carpets, among them are 13 Asian, 11 European, 4 Americans and 1 African countries.

Japan, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Britain, the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar are traditional markets for the luxury Iranian product.

He underlined that $141 million worth of carpets were exported to the Asian countries.

Iran�s carpet exports were hit hard by sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear program. The United States�the biggest importer of Iran�s handmade rugs�banned the import of Iranian carpets, among other products, in September 2010.