MILAN — Strife in the Ukraine and the continuing plunge of the Russian ruble loomed over fur operators at the Mifur trade fair in Milan last week for the second winter season in a row, while they also nursed cuts to their turnover owing to a crash in pelt prices last buying season. Downsized stands meant a cozier four-day trade show March 3 to 6. Attendance was down by 11 percent, and many visitors spoke of needing to adapt to structural market change. “The decrease in Russians and Ukrainians hasn’t been tragic,” said Norberto Albertalli, president of Mifur, adding that the number of Russian buyers fell from more than 500 last year to about 350 by the second day of the fair. A Mifur survey found 89 percent of respondents among the trade fair’s 10,102 visitors foresaw bleak sector prospects. Albertalli was not pessimistic, but nevertheless admitted that without respite in sight for its economic troubles, “The important challenge is to find another market as important as Russia.” Last March, the ruble was down by roughly 20 to 25 percent to the euro compared with March 2013. This month, it is worth a little more than half of what it was worth two
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