IFP - Iran has for the first time exported its homegrown mat weaving products to the Persian Gulf states of the UAE and Qatar.






The shipment contained over 800 mat products, mostly Kapou, a traditional handicraft native to southern Iran that is made of leaves of the palm tree.

Mehr News Agency reported that the handicrafts were exported by a firm affiliated with the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handcraft and Tourism Organisation (ICHTO).

Under a plan initiated in 2017, the firm buys mat handicrafts from producers in southern provinces of Iran and sells them in markets in north of the country, in a bid to prevent the cheap Chinese imports to dominate the market.

This is the first time the mat products are being exported to foreign countries.