36% drop in the export of toquilla straw hats recovers and projects rise of 20%

In the year of the pandemic, businessmen reduced the sales of this fabric, which is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, by $4 million.

Crouched down, with her chest resting on a wooden block, Paulina Ordóñez weaves the fine strands of toquilla straw. She weaves them together and adjusts them firmly to form this traditional hat.

Ordóñez has been making this accessory for 32 years, of his 44, in the community of Pile, in the canton of Montecristi (Manabí), a town recognized for the quality of its hats. Her mother taught her and, now, she trains her three children to "preserve our identity," says this artisan, president of the Association for the Production of Toquilla Pile Straw Hats (Asopropylehats), which brings together 43 weavers .

These hats, classic and modern, with a variety of sizes and models (bell, fedora, diamond, among others), designs and colors, reach more than one hundred countries. The United States, Italy and Germany are the main destinations for these creations, which each year "conquer" new nations.

"There are sales in places that I can't even imagine that people can wear hats, like Alaska," says Daniela Lecaro, director of the Guayaquil company Creando Estilos S.A., the second largest exporter of this product with revenues of almost $19 million between 2012 and this 2021.

In these ten years, the country has exported toquilla straw hats for $107 million, according to figures provided by the Manifest Company, dedicated to collecting information from the commercial sector. Every year, with the exception of 2014, the output of this product has been increasing until2020, the year in which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 36% reduction compared to 2019.

The quarantine time coincided with the months where "there is greater demand for our products internationally," explains Antony Mora, spokesperson for the Cuenca exporter K. Dorfzaun, a leader in the sector -with annual exports exceeding $4 million- and the which had 30% less in its sales.

Creating Styles had the suspension of 10% of its orders; while the production of Procesadora de Sombreros S.A. decreased by 37% due to the cancellation of orders, such as the 10,000 hats for the Roland-Garros (in France) and Wimbledon (in London) tennis tournaments, comments José Bernal, president of this Cuenca firm.

However, this sector is beginning to recover. In the first seven months of this 2021 it is already close to $6 million in exports, three million less than last year ($9.3 million). If this trend continues, it is estimated that it will exceed the 2020 figures by 20%, estimates Tatiana Recalde, spokesperson for the Manifest Company, who believes that this sector should focus on developing new markets and products.

Hats with Guayaquil prints are exhibited at San Marino Shopping

Companies, such as Pamar S.A., in addition to the finished hats, also export the bell or body of this accessory and other handicrafts made with toquilla straw. Pamar's spokesman, Wilson Guevara, highlights that behind the hats there is a story: “a weaver, a family, a knowledge, an art, a value chain that begins from the planting of the raw material to the final finishes in the factory or artisan workshop ”. This company produces 72,000 pieces per year.

89% of the exporters of these hats, whose fabric with toquilla straw is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2012, comes from the south, although the raw material is grown on the coast, in Santa Elena and Manabí. The remaining 11% is from Guayaquil and Manta.

National appointment for weaving of toquilla straw hat

Some have their workshops, but most buy from artisans or intermediaries. Then, the woven hat goes through several processes (azocada, washing, pressing, ironing, among others) until obtaining the final product that arrives abroad with wholesale prices, which on average range from $ 15, the basic one, and up to $ 150 , the fine ones. They are called thus, explained the businessman Bernal, to the selected pieces that have from 7 to 20 degrees (number of threads per inch).

The superfines, up to 60 degrees, are only woven in Montecristi and can be sold for more than $ 5,000.

Cruz Chávez, president of the Elicia Anchundia Association, from Santa Ana (Manabí), recalls that 40 years ago a hat was sold for $ 60 and a fine hat exceeded $ 500; Now, he regrets, they pay him between $ 25 and $ 150. "There are fine items for which they want to pay $ 30, and sometimes out of necessity we accept," says Paulina Ordóñez, from Asopropilehats, who, like Chávez, considers that the work of the artisan does not is valued, so they ask the Government to promote their fabrics so that "young people continue with the tradition."