January 20, 2002	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 5, 1422

LAHORE, Jan 19: Pakistan’s carpet exports fell 22.35 per cent in the first half of the fiscal year 2001-02 (July-Dec) to $103.935 million from $133.848 million in the same period last year.

In terms of quantity of carpets exported, there is a fall of 22.43 per cent to 2,213,000 square meters during the same period from 2,853,000 square meters.

The industry sources said a number of factors — including continuing economic slowdown in the American and European markets, the terrorist attacks on the US, war on Afghanistan and Indo-Pak border tensions — were responsible for the decline in carpet exports from Pakistan.