Most Iranian Weavers To Receive Free health Insurance - Irna

Int'l marketing research for Persian carpets launched: daily - Irna: "Int'l marketing research for Persian carpets launched: daily Tehran, Feb 27, IRNA
Iran-Rug-Market
Iran has launched marketing studies to increase sales of Persian carpets in South Africa, Nepal, Venezuela, Russia and a number of Persian Gulf littoral states, the
English-language `Iran Daily' reported on Tuesday quoting a senior carpet industry official.

Deputy Commerce Minister and head of Iran's National Carpet Center Morteza Faraji added that Iran's carpet industry hopes to export carpets worth half a billion dollars by March, the daily wrote.

The minister, who was the guest speaker at the inaugural ceremony of the 3rd Persian Rug Production and Trade Exhibition, added that the country controls 40 percent of the global handwoven carpet market.

The official further informed that all carpet weavers in rural areas and cities with populations of less than 20,000 will be covered by free health insurance, according to the paper.

He said the exhibition will, in addition to modern production methods, introduce storage techniques for Persian carpet.

Faraji said Germany and the United States were the largest international markets for Persian rugs.

He said that there had been plans to establish a stock exchange for Persian carpets by March 2007.

"It is essential for Iran to set up a carpet bourse as it can help regulate prices and create greater interaction among buyers and sellers," he said, adding that the bourse will also help prevent underpricing of this commodity.

According to the report, Iran exported USD 370.5 million worth of Persian rugs during the March 2005-January 2006 period.

It said some 67 percent of the rugs were exported to Germany, the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Italy and Japan.

The article went on to say that Germany imported USD 89.6 million worth of Persian carpets from Iran during the aforestated period, exports to the US reached USD 67.2 million while figures for the UAE, Italy and Japan stood at USD 34.3 million, USD 33.1 million and USD 24 million, respectively.

Iran exported a total of USD 248 million worth of rugs to the above-mentioned five countries showing an increase of 10 percent as against the figure for the same period in the previous year, the report added."