HERAT: The carpet weaving industry has grown well in Herat province and currently 95 percent of handmade carpets are exported abroad, officials of the Herat Commerce and Industry Directorate said.
In the last six months, 1,200,000 meters of carpets were produced in the country, of which 72,000 meters belonged to Herat province, the officials said.
Provincial director of commerce and industry, Mawlavi Mohammad Zubair Dinparwar told media that there were currently two thousand carpet weaving plants in the province, and about 10,000 people are engaged in carpet weaving in these workshops.
Within the six months of activity of these workshops, carpets in Herat increased by 30%, he said adding that several institutions and donors have recently set a monthly incentive for two thousand people for supporting the carpet industry.
Commerce and industry director consider support of the NGO institutions effective for the growth of the carpet industry and says that currently all the carpet weaving workshops in Herat are active and earn money through this.
He further said that support of the carpet weaving industry, has caused the department in providing the necessary facilities, including facilities in raw materials.
Currently, Herat carpets are sold to European, Arab, and Asian markets he said adding, Afghanistan’s handmade carpets have a special place in the world and many countries are interested in buying the country’s handmade carpets.
He further said that machine-made carpets cannot harm the position of hand-made carpets, but even so, machine-made carpets not be imported from other countries in Afghanistan their customs have raised.
Also, Dinparwar adds that recently, due to the growth of the country’s handmade carpet industry, coordination and understanding has been made with the authorities in Iran and permanent joint exhibitions between the two countries are planned to be held for the sake of the carpet industry in Iran.
He considers the holding of these exhibitions and creation of a joint memorandum effective for the growth of the carpet industry and emphasizes that they will not spare any efforts because of the long-standing carpet industry.
Massouda Qarizada
95pc of Herat carpets exported abroad
