Taiwan Hat Exporters’Association
As a trade association under direct supervision of Ministry of Interior Affairs, this Association was founded on Oct. 28, 1955. In the beginning, the number of total members was only 23, Due to lacking source of fund, this Association temporarily incorporated its office with the private office of the Chairman,. Through the successive chairmen’s endeavor, the Association had its own office in 1978. Due to business demand in 1981, directors and supervisors enthusiastically raised funds to buy a new office room in the T.T.F. Building and have moved in there on June 16, 1985.
In the beginning when this Association was founded, items of exported hat were only Ta-Chia Straw Hat and some other labor-intensive products. The amount of total yearly export then was only several ten thousand US Dollars. After then, we have gradually developed hat manufacture industry in a variety of categories, such as knitting hat, plastic beach hat, visors, cowboy hat and recently the technique-intensive sport hat. Last year（2018）, the total amount of export increased up to US $63260000 among which, U.S.A. was the main market we exported out hats to, totally US $25000000 about 39.5%。In addition to U.S.A., the Japan, Germany, China, Canada, Italy, France, Philippines, United Kingdom, Australia, Vietnam were out big buyer. Now, the export quantities to all of the world is about 800, 000 dozens per year.
The service items of this Association include to induce foreign and local buyers to make purchase in Taiwan, to assist our members participating in international fairs, to provide information about hats and fashion information, to sponsor periodically Member Conferences and various activities., etc. The goals of this Association are to promote the quality of hats, the development of foreign hat markets, to pursue the team work spirit and benefit of this trade.
For the recent years, due to the variation of the objective environment, the labor-intensive hat trade is about to face more and more challenges. We expect all the team members to be able to raise the level of Taiwan hat trade with their expanding and striving spirits and to meet the needs of the epoch. Moreover, we hope the team members to enhance their capability of competition and to reach the eternally development of Taiwan hat trade.
