TEHRAN – Some 9,000 tons of handicrafts valued at $11.1 million were exported from northeastern Khorasan Razavi province during the previous Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended March 19), CHTN reported.

Woodwork, jewelry, kilim, zilou floor coverings, ceramics, traditional glassware, copper products, and precious and semiprecious stones constituted majority of the exports, of which kilim and zilou floor coverings are the most sought-after, provincial tourism chief Abolfazl Mokarramifar said on Sunday.

Handicrafts exports from Iran reached some $146 million during the first nine months of the past Iranian calendar year, while exports amounted to $289 million in the year 1397 (March 2018-March 2019), according to data announced by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.

Dozens of Iranian handicrafts have gained the UNESCO Seal of Excellence during the past couple of years. Some 75 percent of Iranian handicrafts are produced by females, Masoumeh Ebtekar, the vice president for women’s and family affairs, said in April 2018.

ABU/MG