Carpet Exports To Eu Rise By 47.1 Percent

GAZIANTEP - Turkish carpet exports to the European Union (EU) rose by 47.1 percent compared to last year.
The EU countries have replaced the Middle East as the region that buys most of Turkish carpets produced.
Turkish carpet sector`s exports between January and October 2007 reached a value of 786.3 million USD.
In the first nine months of 2007, Turkish exports of hand made carpets reached a sales volume of 97 million USD and increased by 19.7 percent compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, machine woven carpet exports reached a total sales volume of 585 million USD and increased by 35.5 percent compared to last year.
In the first nine months of 2007, Turkey sold carpets worth 153.2 million USD to 27 EU nations.
The Turkish carpet sector plans to reach a total export figure of one billion USD by the end of 2007, said sources.