KABUL, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The carpet industry is the second-largest field after agriculture in Afghanistan, providing direct and indirect job opportunities for 1.2 million people and enabling them to earn a livelihood, a member of the union representing carpet producers in Afghanistan said.
"In the past, the carpet industry was only popular in about five to six provinces, but currently, people across almost all of Afghanistan are engaged in the business, weaving carpets to keep the traditional industry alive and flourishing," Mohibullah Kohi told the official Radio and Television of Afghanistan on Monday.
Afghanistan's hand-woven carpets are popular worldwide, although more than four decades of war and civil unrest have damaged the industry. However, the traditional industry has been thriving in recent years and finding markets abroad, including in China, Europe, the United States, and Arab states. ■