Afghan rug trade unravels

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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MI29Df05.html

BALKH - Carpet-weavers in northern Afghanistan say business is so bad and working conditions so difficult that they are going to Pakistan, where the trade is in better shape.

Traders say Afghanistan lacks the processing infrastructure needed to make the carpet industry self-sufficient, raw materials are expensive, and the taxation system is all wrong, with foreign sales penalized by heavy duties while imported rugs are taxed at a low rate. They say the government needs to do more to support this traditional industry which still accounts for a high proportion of exports.

Murad, 55, from Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, said more


than 200 families involved in weaving had left his home district, Kaldar, in the last six months, heading for Pakistan.the

"My cousin has urged me to go there as well, because there's more work available for good pay," he said.

Murad's family is currently working on a large carpet. When that is finished they too will be going to Pakistan as they cannot survive on what they earn in Afghanistan.