Iran will start direct exports of its traditional handwoven carpets to the United States from early 2017.
Hamid Kargar, the head of Iran's National Carpet Center, was quoted by Press TV as saying that exports of Persian carpets to the US used to be undertaken from Germany.
He said Iran had shipped a cargo of carpets to Los Angeles from Hamburg following the removal of sanctions in January.
The cargo weighed above 1,000 tons and had a total value of about $37 million, he added.
He pointed out that during the months from January 20-February 18, 2017, Iran will export carpets directly from its own ports.
Kargar said Iran used to export Persian carpets — globally known as one of the oldest and most valuable oriental handicrafts — valued at $80 million to the US. He added that the sanctions, however, brought the exports to the world's largest buyer to zero in 2010.
He added that Iran had exported handmade carpets worth $134 million, or 2,330 tons, to 80 countries between March and September this year.
Exports over the period, he underlined, showed an increase of 18 percent in value and 11 percent in weight against the figure for the same period last year.
Kargar also said Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade was seeking global registration of the designs of Persian carpets, stressing that this is meant to prevent rivals such as India and Pakistan from copying Iranian designs.
The official said Iran has a total of 40 carpet designs that each belong to a different geographical regions of the country. He added that 29 of those designs have been internationally registered in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over the past two years.
