Mcallen Daily Press

Boom Forseen
In Panama Hats

CUENCA, Ecuador, Sept. 6 (UP)—Ecuador's 'Panama' hat industry is booming.

The illiterate Indian population of the highlands of southern Ecuador is well aware of the potential increased demand for Panama hats in the United States as a result of general reemployment, according to buyers here for American hat wholesalers.

Prices asked by Indians for the hats range from 50 cents to $50, depending upon the quality of the straw used, the fineness of the weave, and the condition of the hat upon completion.

The greater part of the Panama hat industry—which might well be described as a 'hut industry,' as most of the hats are made in Indian huts—is concentrated in the mountains within 50 miles of this city in Southern Ecuador. The Cuenca region ships some 1,200,000 hats annually to the United States although the highest grade Panama hats are produced around Montcristi in the hot coastal section.

The weavers are now busily working on next summer's supply of Panamas for the United States market. Next year's hats will be available in two colors—white and light brown. The styles are set in the United States, and the general shape of the hats to be woven for the following season is indicated to the Indians in the market places of Cuenca and other mountain towns by agents of the seven or eight principal buyers stationed here.

The manufacture of Panama hats was introduced in the Cuenca region 60 years ago in an effort to alleviate the poverty of the Indians. The straw is shipped in from the coastal plains, and the completed hats sent back to the coast for shipment to the United States.

Hat weaving now represents a part-time industry for several hundred thousand Indian women. These women weave an average of one ordinary grade hat per week, working only in their spare time. A high grade hat may require from three to four months to make.