Vitebsk, 30 November /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. Open Joint Stock Company "Vitebsk Fruit and Vegetable Processing Plant" will launch the production of vegetable-meat and vegetable-fish preserves for baby food in the first quarter of 2013, the enterprise director Rostislav Goshko informed a BELTA correspondent. The plant has been implementing the reconstruction project for the baby food production workshop with new equipment, under the republican program "Baby Food," since 2011. Its total cost is Br6 billion, of which Br4 billion has already been utilized. The project is financed by the innovation fund of the "Belgospishcheprom" concern, own funds, and bank loans. Today, the enterprise held a trial run of the new line for the production of vegetable-meat and vegetable-fish preserves for baby food. The installation and commissioning of the equipment are carried out in accordance with the industry-specific scientific and technical program "Scientific Support for Processing Branches of the Food Industry of the Republic of Belarus." Currently, the enterprise's technologists have developed 17 types of preserve recipes. The testing of samples from pilot batches at the meeting of the central tasting commission for assessing the quality of canned products was approved and recommended for production. The launch of the new products will begin in the first quarter of 2013. Vitebsk Fruit and Vegetable Processing Plant plans to gradually increase production volumes of the new product series within the first three years and significantly increase them in subsequent years. In particular, the planned volume for next year will be 150 tons, and in the period 2013-2015, an increase to 1.7 thousand tons is expected. "The new types of preserves are an innovative product with an export-oriented and import-substituting character," emphasized the director, noting that currently, only Orsha Meat Canning Plant produces meat preserves for children in Belarus, but its volumes are insufficient to meet the country's needs. Another important factor in mastering this product is the need to expand the range of baby food on the republic's market.