Iran’s carpet exports have faced a dramatic decline, dropping from $426 million in 2017 to less than $40 million in 2023.
Morteza Haji-Aghamiri, head of the Carpet, Art, and Handicrafts Commission of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, announced these figures on Sunday, November 17, in an interview with ILNA, Iran’s Labor News Agency. He stated that India has now replaced Iran in the global carpet market, dominating the U.S. market, which accounts for 44% of global carpet imports.
He attributed this decline primarily to sanctions and misguided currency policies, especially the “foreign exchange repatriation policy.”
This policy has hindered exporters from promptly repatriating revenue from carpet sales, causing them to lag in the global market.
According to Haji-Aghamiri’s assessment, the damage caused by the currency repatriation policy reduced Iran’s carpet exports to under $100 million. This contrasts starkly with 1994, when carpets accounted for 44% of Iran’s total non-oil exports.
Despite the removal of the foreign exchange repatriation policy for hand-woven carpets, exports continue to face challenges. Competition from India, Turkey, and Afghanistan has further compounded the problem.
The decline in carpet exports has severely impacted jobs related to this industry, exacerbating unemployment in rural areas.
Previously, Faisal Mardasi, former head of the National Carpet Organization, mentioned that the carpet production chain is rooted in rural and nomadic regions, where unemployment has surpassed the “crisis stage.”
Smuggled Afghan Carpets in the Iranian Market
In his Sunday interview, Haji-Aghamiri identified Turkey and Afghanistan as other competitors in the global carpet market. He stated, “During its presence in Afghanistan, the United States invested in the country’s carpet industry, and now smuggled Afghan carpets of lower quality and price are being sold in the Iranian market.”
According to the Economic Studies Department of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce, Iran’s share of global hand-woven carpet exports decreased from 25.5% to 7.4% between 2011 and 2022, while the shares of competitors such as India, China, Nepal, and Pakistan increased during the same period.
The report identifies the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan as the world’s top importers of hand-woven carpets.
Customs data also reveal that Germany (17.6%), the United Arab Emirates (17.2%), China (16.2%), and Pakistan (6%) are the main destinations for hand-woven carpet exports.
Currently, 80% of Iranian hand-woven carpets are exported, with only 20% sold domestically.
