Iran’s centuries-old carpet industry, once a symbol of cultural prestige and a $2 billion export powerhouse, is unraveling under US sanctions, shifting consumer tastes and rising competition, industry officials and traders say.
Exports of handmade rugs, which stood at more than $400 million in 2017, fell to just $41.7 million in the year to March 2025, according to customs data -- a drop of over 95% from their peak in the early 1990s, AFPreported.
The collapse followed Washington’s 2018 reimposition of sanctions, cutting off the US market that once bought more than 70% of Iranian carpets.
“During the unkind and cruel US sanctions, we lost our biggest buyer,” said Zahra Kamani, head of Iran’s National Carpet Center.
Germany, the UAE, Japan and China are now Iran’s top destinations, but volumes remain a fraction of past levels.
Rivals including India, China, Nepal, Turkey and Pakistan have captured global market share, with some rugs even imported back into Iran, traders said.
At least two million Iranians, many of them rural women, depend on carpet-weaving but earn only a few dollars a day. “We are losing even part of our domestic market due to imports,” Tehran trader Hamed Nabizadeh told AFP.
With tourism also in decline, fewer foreign visitors buy rugs, and even those who do are deterred by price tags of $30,000 or more for silk carpets.
Officials insist revival is possible. Trade Minister Mohammad Atabak said in June that new trade and currency policies could help resuscitate exports.
Analysts argue adapting designs to modern décor trends, using social media for sales and branding carpets more effectively may be key.
But with Iran’s currency plunging, many families at home are turning to cheaper factory-made rugs, and a centuries-old craft risks fading into a relic of the past.
