MNA � The head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Ali Asghar Mounesan said Sat. that with government support handicrafts' annual sales could increase to $2 billion in the near future.







Ali Asghar Mounesan made the remarks on sidelines of�the 30th National Handicraft Exhibition which kicked off today at Tehran's Permanent Fairground.

Mounesan said that this year, the exhibition has a higher quality as compared to previous editions of the event in terms of product diversity, packaging and arrangment of pavilions.

He said that during the first two months of the current Iranian year (beginning on March 21), $32 million worth of handicrafts were exported, indicating a 66% increase compared to the same period last year.

He further noted that the exhibition is widely welcomed by the people which paves the ground for further improvement of such events in the next years.

The exhibition kicked of in the presence of�the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamakhani, and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency Ali Akbar Salehi. The event�will run for a week.

The 30th National Handicraft Exhibition is being held at the same venue alongside�the 27th Iran Handmade Carpet Exhibition which was inaugurated on Saturday in Tehran in the presence of Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari. Over 670 producers, export companies and manufacturing units across the country are taking part in the event, running through Aug. 31.