Vine fretter can badly damage Armenian vineyards within 5 years, chairman of the Union of Winemakers said.

“Affecting the roots, vine fretter can kill the plant during 3 or 4 years. It’s not curable. The only way to struggle is to dug out the old vineyards and plant new ones, what will cost $270-290 million,” Avag Harutyunyan told reporters on August 17.

“Since the USSR decline, no measure has been taken to prevent the spread of the illness, which was lately detected in Tavush region,” he said.