LAHORE, Sept 8: Carpet exports shot up by 26 per cent to $254.6 million during the financial year 2004-05 from $208.9 million the previous year. Quoting export figures released by the State Bank, industry spokesman Naeem Tahir Sheikh on Thursday said the “upward trend in the carpet exports indicated that the industry was recovering from the setback suffered after the 9/11 events.”

The carpet exports from Pakistan dropped to $220 million from a record $285 million in the last few years. The spokesman was hopeful that Pakistan’s carpet exporters would manage to increase their exports to $300 million in very short time.

He said the carpet exporters were making rapid gains in all major markets. “In the US, we were able to increase our exports to $104.8m in 2004-05 from a mere $84.8m during the previous year. Similarly, carpet exports to Germany, Pakistan’s second largest market, went up to $26.6m from $25.8m. In case of France and the UK, the increase of $8m is higher as shown by the comparative figures for the last two financial years.”

Mr Sheikh said the Pakistani carpet exports could shoot up to $500 million should the government provided logistic, banking and related support to the industry. “A handful of big carpet exporters are behind the rise in carpet exports. But the need is to carry the entire industry along, with concerted research and development and marketing effort at the industry’s and the association’s level. This effort is lacking at the moment,” he added.