On January 20, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Enterprises of the Vitebsk Concern "Meat and Dairy Products" will increase investments in 2012 by 11% compared to the previous year to Br350 billion, the concern informed a BELTA correspondent. The main volume of funds (Br260 billion) will be directed towards the implementation of four projects carried over to 2013. In particular, it is planned to build a demineralized whey drying workshop at OJSC "Moloko" (Vitebsk) with a capacity of 500 tons/day, with a potential expansion to 1,000 tons/day. At the Braslav production site of the Glubokoye Dairy and Canning Plant, the implementation of a project started in 2011 to create modern cheese production facilities with the latest milk processing technology will continue. The Postavy Dairy Plant is also constructing a workshop for the production of hard cheeses with a capacity of 20 tons/day. Another major project is the construction of a baby food workshop at the Orsha Meat Canning Plant. Projects for production modernisation and technical re-equipment will also be implemented at other enterprises of the concern, specialists added, emphasizing that this is an important component of the plants' activities, enabling them to produce high-quality products and operate successfully in export markets. According to operational data, in 2011, the concern's enterprises produced products worth Br3 trillion, or 168.8% compared to the 2010 level. The share of innovative products in the total volume of shipped goods was 27.1%. The structure of milk processing in 2011 shifted towards increasing the production volumes of the most profitable and export-oriented products, and this trend will continue in 2012. Investments in fixed assets increased in 2011 compared to 2010 by 33.5% to Br315.5 billion. The export of meat and dairy products increased by 15% to $289 million. The association's enterprises cooperate with importers of meat and dairy products from 22 countries. Notably, supplies to the EU market increased 2.4 times compared to 2010, and supplies to CIS countries and Georgia also increased. Alongside this, the Russian Federation remains the main trading partner for the Vitebsk concern's enterprises, accounting for 76.5% of the total export volume. The concern includes four meat processing plants and eight dairy industry enterprises.-0-

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