TEHRAN – The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts plans to organize an on-line workshop for craftspeople to upgrade handicraft design methods in a bid to expand both domestic and foreign sales markets.

“The purpose of this virtual course, which will be held for free, is to focus on new skills for designing the [handcrafted] products and upgrade them according to the needs of domestic and foreign markets. The workshop will also cover schemes for the packaging of handicraft products,” Parvaneh Heidari, an official for the ministry, said on Sunday.

“This four-session workshop will [exclusively] be held for crafters from Tehran province aiming to increase the competitiveness of sales of handicraft products in domestic and foreign markets,” the official noted ISNA reported.

Handicrafts exports from Tehran province reached $73 million during the past Iranian calendar year 1398 (started March 21, 2019), according to data announced by provincial tourism chief Parham Janfeshan back in March. Traditional glassware, mosaic, woodwork, hand-woven kilim carpets and rugs, personal ornamentations, and semi-precious stones constitute the majority of Tehran’s handicrafts mostly exported to Turkey, Iraq, and Persian Gulf littoral states.

The Islamic Republic exported $523 million worth of handicrafts during the past calendar year 1398 (ended March 19), tourism minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan announced in June. Of the figure, some $273 million worth of handicrafts were exported officially through customs, and about $250 million was earned via suitcase trade (allowed for customs-free and tax-free transfer) through various provinces, Mounesan explained.

AFM/MG