Afghan Carpet Weavers Eye China as Lucrative Market

These days mark the busiest time of the year for Safiullah, a 37-year-old Afghan carpet weaver in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, as he is trying to produce as many carpets as possible.

According to Safiullah, China could be a lucrative market for hand-woven carpets as Afghan carpet weavers are satisfied with interacting with Chinese partners and exporting their products to the Chinese markets.

Safiullah expressed optimism as he happily shared his accomplishment of producing two 12 square meter hand-woven carpets in the past three months, while confidently stating that there is high demand for them in Chinese markets.

"The demand for hand-woven and high-quality carpets is on a constant rise in the market," Safiullah told Xinhua, suggesting that the promotion of carpet weaving art could help low-income families improve their living conditions.

Businesses, which include carpet weaving, pine nut processing, and other products, are expected to create more job opportunities in Afghanistan. Safiullah's impoverished family sees this as a great chance to overcome their economic hardship thanks to China, considered one of the most suitable markets for Afghan products.

The business for Afghan carpet weavers dramatically dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Angela, 23, said the obstacles upon export added to her family's economic burden.

A direct flight route between Kabul and the Northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi resumed on May 24, 2023 following a three-year hiatus, further boosting trade and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and China.

Angela said she would weave more carpets and help the impoverished women gain regular income.

According to experts, expanding the carpet weaving industry could create more job opportunities for the Afghan people.

"Export of Afghan carpets to China has significantly increased, leading us to sell more carpets and thus facilitating us to hire more workers in the industry," Sayed Bilal Farooqi, a member of the Afghan Carpet Union, told Xinhua.

Afghanistan, according to the Union of Carpet Producers and Exporters, has exported more than one million square meters of carpets to China over the past two years.

Like carpet, pine nut has also become a major export item of Afghanistan as the country's Ministry of Economy estimates that the government will earn some two billion US dollars annually from pine nut exports, mainly to China.

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