More than 10 years ago, Mr Perez set up 'Perez trading' - a Sydney-based business which imports handmade Panama hats from Ecuador.
Known as a toquilla in Ecuador where it originated, the reference to Panama came from when US President Theodore Roosevelt donned the hat while visiting the construction site of the Panama Canal in 1906.
Nowadays, the hat is widely produced in Ecuadorian factories, and also handmade by Indigenous communities in the South American country.
Mr Perez says the manufacturing process is long.
It begins with the extraction of the membranes from the leaves of a type of palm that grows in some regions of Ecuador and neighbouring countries.
After drying in the sun, they are soaked, dyed, dried, hand-woven and shaped. This process can take up to four weeks.
"A hat of the finest quality could [cost as much as] between $4,000 and $ 5,000," he told SBS Spanish.
The hats he imports and sells at his stalls are not as expensive, but he says most are produced by Indigenous communities.
Mr Perez says the Indigenous creators frequently tell him about the exploitation they suffer from larger merchants who place conditions on them or reject the product.
"I have a hat section that I bring from those Indigenous areas and I sell them at more affordable prices and so the community has this help and does not have to go through that unfair filter after having spent many days working," he said.
To make a living as a small importer is not easy, but Mr Perez says its all worth it to assist the Indigenous communities of Ecuador, and to show off an "important cultural element" of his home country.
"When I look back at these ten years, sales have increased and I like to believe that people know the product thanks to me," he said.
"I love going out to markets and fairs, talking to people and telling them about the Panama hat."
Mr Perez hopes to one day introduce the product to other countries.
This story was originally published in Spanish.
