China and Pakistan have included handmade carpets in their free trade agreement to increase exports of Pakistan’s carpet sector, which employs thousands of women.
The carpet business had “reached rock bottom due to several trade-related obstacles,” according to Riaz Ahmed, vice chairwoman of Pakistan’s Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Due to escalating freight prices, skyrocketing tax levies, customs clearance, and warehouse expenses, Pakistan’s exports of handmade carpets dropped from $300 million to $68 million in 2015.
As a result, tens of thousands of daily wagering women have lost their jobs.
Women make up 70% of the workforce in the hand-knotted carpet industry, according to Ahmed. 313 export items will now have duty-free access to China’s $2 trillion import market, thanks to the inclusion of hand knotted carpets in the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement.
“Pakistan is a large handmade carpet manufacturing industry in the region,” Ahmed said, adding that the country’s low labour costs are appealing to Chinese companies.
