KABUL, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan exported carpets and rugs worth 18 million U.S. dollars over the past year, with shipments going to 37 countries, the official Bakhtar News Agency reported on Saturday.

File photo: AFP

"About 6,000 square meters of carpets and 4,000 square meters of rugs were exported over the past year," Bakhtar quoted Abdullah Rahman Qul, head of the Carpet Union in Afghanistan, as saying.

"The majority of these exports were destined for the United States, Türkiye, and European markets," Rahman Qul added.

Rahman Qul noted that carpet processing is now being carried out inside the country, and that further expansion of domestic processing could create employment opportunities for around 50,000 people.

He added that the Carpet Union is working to increase the number of exhibitions in order to better introduce domestic products to international markets and attract new buyers for Afghan carpets.

The carpet industry is Afghanistan's second-largest sector after agriculture, providing direct and indirect jobs for 1.2 million people, particularly women.