Mink farmers feel the chill as Russian market weakens

Many plan to focus on growing demand for high-quality garments in domestic market, report Wang Zhuoqiong in Beijing and Zhao Ruixue in Weihai, Shandong.

Mink farmers in China had a harsh winter as prices and demand fell in reaction to weak markets in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Wang Yongquan, deputy head of the Husbandry Bureau in the Wendeng district of Weihai, a city in East China's Shandong province, said the export volume of fur in 2014 in Wendeng dropped 30 percent year-on-year. Russia has long been its largest foreign market.