InfoAnda - Red tape, corruption pull rug from under Afghan carpet business |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

British bank Lloyds returns to profit in first quarter | 27 April 2010
Softbank profits soar as iPhone subscriptions rise | 3 February 2011
Technology titans to adopt human rights code of conduct - Yahoo! Singapore News | 29 October 2008

U.N. council extends mandate of Darfur peacekeepers | International | | 30 July 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Red tape, corruption pull rug from under Afghan carpet business |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Davos 2012 Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Geraldine Fabrikant Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our best photos from the last 48 hours. Full Article Images of January Best photos of the year 2011 Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Syria's Homs bombarded again, Turks push for solution | 3:03am EST Greek minister heads to Brussels with incomplete bailout deal | 1:38am EST After wins, Santorum seeks funding | 08 Feb 2012 Gay marriage wins final legislative approval in Washington state 08 Feb 2012 Obama birth-control rule stokes election-year fight 08 Feb 2012 Discussed 468 FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists 196 Job growth seen slowing after holiday boost 127 Santorum wins Missouri Republican primary, TV networks projects Watched Huge baby shocks parents Tue, Feb 7 2012 Blizzards pound Japan Wed, Feb 8 2012 Video captures Santiago subway derailment Wed, Feb 8 2012 Red tape, corruption pull rug from under Afghan carpet business Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Car bomb kills nine in Afghan city Kandahar Sun, Feb 5 2012 U.S. tries to ease confusion over Afghan plans Thu, Feb 2 2012 Taliban vows to retake Afghanistan: report Wed, Feb 1 2012 Afghanistan to press Pakistan for access to Taliban Mon, Jan 30 2012 Taliban willing to compromise, Afghan negotiators say Fri, Jan 27 2012 Analysis & Opinion A CEO’s phone mannerisms can reveal fibs Gali Gali Chor Hai: Well intentioned, badly made Related Topics World » Afghanistan » By Rob Taylor KABUL | Thu Feb 9, 2012 12:49am EST KABUL (Reuters) - At a small shop a stone's throw from the Ghazi Stadium where Afghanistan's former Taliban government used to stage its public executions, Mohammad Hashem is worried about the death of his carpet business. Carpets are the country's best-known export, but prices, driven sharply higher by war, competition from abroad, red tape and corruption have taken the industry over a cliff, with a 70 percent drop in production over the past few years. "In three months I have not sold even one," said Hashem, glumly eyeing piles of plush crimson carpet as his breath steams in the winter air filling the room. "My shop sells mostly to Afghans and the people are very poor right now. There is no money for most people even for food," he says. Hashem has no spare money even to heat his shop, which is open at the front to a snow-lined street. While Afghanistan's economy has averaged growth of 9.1 percent in recent years as war and reconstruction spending drive up prices, an estimated third of the 30 million population live under the poverty line on less than $1 a day. And a fall in carpet production, which directly or indirectly employs six million people, or a fifth of the population, will add to economic worries ahead of the withdrawal of foreign troops in three years' time. Afghanistan's Carpet Exporters' Guild, which overlooks the street on which Hashem's shop is jammed up against others, says prices overseas for Afghan carpets are up to $8,000 a square meter, but local prices at a tiny fraction of that and monthly pay of around $70 are driving workers in search of better pay. Afghanistan exported almost 388,000 square meters of carpet and non-pile "kilim" rug last year, down from 1,370,000 square meters of carpet and kilim in 2010. "This year it will be close to 300,000 square meters," said the guild's deputy president, Zarif Yadgari. "No one comes here to buy wholesale. Traders don't come here to buy our products and we are not allowed to go to Europe or America to sell." Afghan carpets are keenly sought by overseas collectors, but the industry, built upon people working in homes in often remote rural provinces, faces intense competition from machine-made carpets and refugees now producing them from shelters in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, the guild said. Exiles also have a currency advantage over Afghanistan's economy -- inflated by NATO spending and development contracts pushing up electricity and raw material costs -- while a lack of infrastructure means carpets have to be sold almost solely through middlemen in Pakistan, again pushing up costs. "The biggest challenge we face is that we don't have direct export access from Afghanistan," said the guild's finance director, Alhaj Samiullah. Industry representatives blame government red tape and endemic corruption for blocking improvements and marketing that they hope would bring fresh expansion. "In the past people in provinces could earn good money. But now there are machine-made carpets which people have mostly turned to. We have people inside the country who want to kill our carpet industry," Samiullah said. The government says it has tried to kick-start production, allocating land for an industry park in the eastern city of Jalalabad. But at a dusty carpet weaving workshop on the sprawling southern fringes of Kabul, workers pile wool into a steaming vat for dyeing and say the government is not doing enough to sever reliance on sales and exports through Pakistan. "The big challenge we face is that the number of carpets in the market is down, and so we have to cut our production. We demand the government help traders to find a better market and lift the price," said worker Mohammad Taqi. Inside, 19-year-old Zahra sits huddled over a loom with her two sisters, copying complex designs from paper into intricate knotted designs. "The prices of carpets are very low," she said. "It is hard work for us, but we earn less income and our economy is weak. We cannot go to school because we have to work all the time here in order to make money and feed our family." (Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni and Samar Zwak; Editing by Nick Macfie) World Afghanistan Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Thursday, 9 February 2012
U.S., Japan decouple Marines' Guam move from Okinawa |
Iraq seeks to clamp down on security contractors |
Google to pledge not to favor Motorola over rivals |
Hungarian town suffers as Nokia announces big layoffs |
CNN suspends Roland Martin over anti-gay tweets |
Kaspersky Lab's sales growth slowed in 2011 |
Axed musicians to protest outside Grammy Awards show |
Lana Del Rey has last laugh with top Billboard debut |
Reunited Beach Boys to perform at Grammy Awards |
Syria's Homs bombarded again, Turks push for solution |
Maldives court orders arrest of ousted president: party official |
India says tea exports to Iran facing payment hurdle |
Egypt to deploy soldiers, tanks ahead of strike |
EU asks India to pressure Iran over nuclear program: report |
U.S. drone strike kills four in NW Pakistan: officials |
Russian, Chinese arms used in Darfur abuse: Amnesty |
Red tape, corruption pull rug from under Afghan carpet business |
China plays down rumors over Chongqing official's sick leave |
Long-hidden archives help Guatemala war crimes trials |
Analysis: Investor activists see little to like in Facebook |
Alibaba.com shares halted; Yahoo update? |
Lenovo beats Q3 net forecasts by raising market share |
Groupon disclosure, growth concerns hit stock |
Lenovo initially to focus on China for smart TV sales |
Chinese espionage cases touch DuPont, Motorola |
Cisco Q3 revenue outlook strong after Q2 beat |
Adele used phone app to curse during vocal rest |
Grammy spotlight shines on Adele |
Ex-TV producer sent to Mexico to face murder charge |
French revolution film launches 2012 Berlin festival |
Stars campaign for heart health in red dress fashion show |
TV medical drama House to end after 8 years |
Exclusive: U.S. military seeks more access in Philippines |
Iran paying for grain with gold, oil: traders |
U.S. drone strike kills senior militant in Pakistan: officials |
Russian oligarchs should pay privatization fee: Putin |
Turkish clashes with PKK militants kill 14 |
Garzon trial forces Spain to confront painful past |
Ending child marriage can boost India's rise: Tutu |
Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike risks dying: hospital |
German court says Samsung can sell reworked tablet |
Glam Media launches social network for food lovers |
Vodafone hit by weak southern Europe |
French revolution film in Berlin conjures Arab Spring |
Beatle's ex-wife says Piers Morgan heard hacked call |
Grammy spotlight shines on Adele |
Axed musicians to protest outside Grammy Awards show |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01