Iranian merchants from Esfahan and Kerman provinces and the Khorasan region accompanied Iranian officials on a trip to China where they discussed ways to improve materials and packaging for Persian handicrafts, Tahmineh Daniali, the acting deputy manager of the Handicrafts and Persian Traditional Arts Department of the CHTHO told the state news agency.
“Finding solutions for problems in the national handicrafts industry in Iran is one of the main goals of our meetings,” she added.
“We also discussed possible ways to boost Persian carpet sales in China and other countries,” she said. Chinese carpet firms have been taking business away from Iran by producing huge volumes of carpets with Iranian designs.
Many business people in Iran have said they fear Chinese competition.
Over the past decade, Chinese goods have invaded the Iranian market and come to dominate parts of it, leading to bankruptcies in the agricultural sector and industries such as textiles, shoe-making and handicrafts, historically the strongest industries in Iran.