A carpet exhibition was held on Monday in the capital city of Kabul, with many carpet weavers from across the country displaying their handmade carpets.
Monday was also the first day of the solar year 1401.
The exhibition was held to attract foreign investment in handmade carpets.
The carpet weavers said that the high rate of imports of Turkish carpets affected the sale of the handmade carpets in the market.
“There are no flights. There is business, but I hope it will be better in the future,” said Abdul Shokor, a carpet weaver. This comes as the Islamic Emirate said that the export of Afghan carpets to the international markets is at a low level and that the Islamic Emirate would support the industry of handmade carpets in the country.
“Whenever we participate in international contests we take first position, but, unfortunately, the rate of our exports may not reach one million dollars,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
According to the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), over 90 percent of the Afghan carpets are exported to the international market via Pakistan. The ACCI said 700,000 square meters of handmade carpets were exported abroad since last year.
“We have had one million dollars worth exports this year due to good security on the highways,” said Mohammad Younus Momand, acting head of ACCI.
The exhibition was attended by visitors from inside and outside Afghanistan. Based on available figures, over one million people across Afghanistan are engaged in carpet weaving. The union of Afghanistan’s carpet weavers said that women comprise 90 percent of the Afghans who are working as carpet weavers.—Tolonews
