In Spain, the world’s biggest olive oil producer, supermarkets are closing bottles of oil as thefts surge and prices rise, Reuters reports.
Litre bottles of extra virgin olive oil sell for 14.5 euros ($15.77) in some supermarkets, which puts olive oil in the category of goods that retailers put safety tags on, along with household appliances, alcoholic drinks and cosmetics. Ruben Navarro, the CEO of Tu Super supermarket chain, which operates 30 stores in Spain’s Andalucia region, said:
We are seeing a major surge in shoplifting.Olive oil has become an ideal product for them to steal.
Over the past two years, olive oil prices have risen by 150 per cent in Spain. The reason for this is the low yields of olive trees due to the scorching drought in the south of the country. According to Navarro, organised crime groups are stealing the oil to resell it. Since September, at the Tu Super shop, large five-litre bottles of olive oil have been chained and attached to shelves to prevent theft. Navarro said:
It is a crazy, extreme measure, but it has worked.
Some Carrefour and Auchan supermarkets in Madrid are installing security tags on litre bottles that staff must remove. Spanish retail anti-theft solutions company STC has seen a 12-fold increase in orders from supermarkets this summer for devices to protect olive oil bottles, the company’s managing partner Salvador Canones told Reuters.
Spanish police also uncovered the theft of olive oil from mills and arrested two people in October as part of an investigation into the theft of 56 tonnes of extra virgin olive oil.
While olive and oil thefts have particularly increased, measures taken by supermarkets also reflect a wider spike in shoplifting. According to Spanish business organisation CEOE, repeat thefts targeting retailers will increase by 30% in 2022 and a further 12% in 2023. In Spain, thefts of goods worth less than €400 are not penalised unless they are re-offended.
