There are good chances that the carpets American or European tourists are buying in Istanbul today were designed, weaved, washed and sent to the Turkish city straddling Asia and Europe by Shahid Hasan Sheikh’s Lahore Carpet Manufacturing Company.

If so, the wool used in them was procured from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, New Zealand or Cholistan, washed in the cold water of River Kabul and handspun into yarn by Afghan women.

The colours used to dye the yarn might or might not be free of chemicals, depending on the buyers’ preference. In either case, at least two men or women in Punjab’s villages or somewhere in Afghanistan must have worked eight hours a day for nine to 10 months to produce each carpet before it was brought to his large factory on the outskirts of Lahore for washing and final quality check before it was shipped to the importer.

Turkey, known as carpet country, has replaced Germany as second largest buyer of Pakistan’s hand-knotted carpets after the United States because of 80pc decline in its domestic production owing to the rapid industrialisation and significant spike in tourist demand over last few years.

“Wages in carpet weaving are much lower than offered by the manufacturing industry. Hence, growth in the manufacturing often weans away carpet weavers,” says Shahid whose father started manufacturing carpets with 15 looms in 1949 and entered the export market in 1982.

Pakistan’s carpet trade, like Turkey, has also suffered enormously in the last 5-7 years - but for different reasons. It isn’t industrialisation or rising income levels that have forced the country’s carpet exports to drop from its peak of $300m to $120m.

“The economic recession that hit the US and Europe in 2008 and the changing preferences of the buyers have damaged our carpet trade. Iran, a major exporter of traditional carpets, has seen its foreign sales fall by 70pc because it refused to change with the changing market trends,” Shahid, one of the country’s 10 largest carpet exporters said in an interview with Dawn.

His sales have also gone down significantly to $8m from $25-30m in good old days. Hundreds of firms, especially those operating out of Karachi, have already gone out of business and almost half of 1.5m jobs lost. Today, 6-7 big companies are responsible for half of the total exports. Shahid says the technology — varieties, fabrics and natural dyes — and weaving skills brought by Afghan weavers in the wake of the war in their country had boosted our exports in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“The same technology and skills are now helping Pakistan survive in the global markets. We are now leading in innovation in carpet design development because of the marriage between Afghan and Pakistani technology, skills and experience,” insists Shahid Still, 35-40 per cent carpets Pakistan exports are weaved in Afghanistan and the war-torn country remains the first choice of carpet producers for procuring wool.

The former president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the international markets have undergone a drastic change over the last few years.

“There are ample opportunities for Pakistan, an exporter of high- to middle-end carpets, to significantly boost its exports. There still is large unmet demand for carpets in the world markets. Turkey with 31m tourists visiting it in 2011, for example, can prove to be a big market for us. But it is for custom-made products because it is driven mostly by the choices interior designers make according to the needs and requirements of consumers. If you produce a carpet and try to sell it anywhere in the world you will not be able to sell it. Even if you succeed in finding a buyer you won’t get the right price.”

Shahid, who joined the family business in 1970 when he was still an undergraduate student to help his father, argues that Pakistan’s carpet exporters could use a little help from the government to boost their presence in their existing markets and diversify into new ones. “Carpet manufacturing is very labour-intensive trade. By investing a little capital you can create many jobs, especially for rural women, unlike capital-intensive industries and increase exports many times.”

For instance, he contends, the government can train shepherds in Cholistan in wool farming. It will help boost their income. The industry will be able to procure quality wool locally.

Similarly, it can assist the industry in getting access to new markets like Brazil, the Philippines, South Korea, Indonesia, etc. “Pakistani carpet exporters have an edge over their rivals in India, China and Iran because of their innovative designs, cheaper prices and technology but require the government to understand the significance for the economy and rural poverty reduction.”