Thieves target shelves, Spanish supermarkets "lock up" olive oil

In Spain, the world's largest producer of olive oil, many supermarkets are taking extra security measures to prevent rising thefts due to high prices.

One-liter bottles of extra virgin olive oil are now being sold for €14.50 in some supermarkets, and this has led retailers to place the bottles of olive oil next to items such as alcoholic beverages and cosmetic products and "chain" them together. key to prevent theft.

The price of olive oil has risen by 150% over the past two years, largely due to a scorching drought in southern Europe.

Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil, supplying around 40% of world production.

" We are witnessing a significant increase in shoplifting. Olive oil has become an attractive product for thieves to steal, " Ruben Navarro, CEO of Tu Super, a supermarket chain operating in Spain's Andalusia region, told Reuters . .

In a bid to combat theft, Tu Super has been using chains to surround large 5-litre bottles of olive oil on shelves since September.

Meanwhile, supermarket chains such as Carrefour and Auchan in Spain are putting security labels on one-litre bottles of olive oil, which require staff to remove if someone wants to buy them.

The outlook for the future of olive oil is also worrying, as Deoleo, the world's largest producer of "liquid gold", predicts that prices in Spain will remain at record levels until at least June, due to droughts in consecutively in the southern part of the country.

Spanish police have also reported cases of olive oil being stolen from factories, with Spanish law favoring thieves as thefts of items worth less than €400 are not punished unless the offender is a repeat offender. (A2 Televizion)