TEHRAN –While the sales of handicrafts in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province has decreased due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, online markets try to boost sales, the deputy provincial tourism chief has said.  

Although the sale of handicrafts in this province is not generally dependent on tourism, and most of the products, such as needlework and wickerwork, are sold to the local people, the crafters have faced several problems due to the closure of markets, ISNA quoted Mohammad-Behrouz Isazehi as saying on Sunday.

Back in April, the official announced that handicrafts exports from the province surpassed $3 million during the previous Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended on March 20).

The handicrafts were mostly composed of needlework, traditional textiles, earthenware, and potteries exported to littoral Persian Gulf states, Iraq, Tajikistan, Germany, and other countries, the official noted.

Last August, the Sistan-Baluchestan tourism department announced that exports from the province rose by 195 percent since one of its villages, Kalpourgan, was named a world village of pottery by the World Crafts Council - Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR).

The village is widely famous for being a living museum of potteries, where the in-house expertise has been passed down from generation to generation over the course of history.

The vast province is home to several distinctive archaeological sites and natural attractions, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Burnt City) and Lut desert, parts of the latter is situated in Kerman province.

ABU/MG