From 7,500 Won to 20,700 Won 'Jump'... Olive Becomes Theft Target Due to Price Surge

Olive Oil Prices Rise Due to Abnormal Climate
Soaring Prices Earn It the Name 'Golden Liquid'

As olive oil prices rise across Europe due to poor harvests caused by abnormal weather, olive thieves are running rampant in Spain.

According to the British daily The Guardian on the 3rd, Spanish police recently discovered six people illegally picking olives near the village of Albaida del Aljarafe in the south and seized 465 kg of stolen olives.

Chicken fried in olive oil. The photo is not directly related. [Image source=Asia Economy DB]

In Spain, the green olive harvest begins in early autumn. Police reported that during the 2023?2024 harvest season, a total of 48 olive thieves were arrested, and an additional 371 people were investigated. The olives recovered by the police during this period amounted to 213 tons.

In recent years, droughts and various adverse weather conditions have reduced olive yields, causing olive oil prices to rise across Europe. In Spain alone, prices have nearly tripled over the past four years, with high-quality extra virgin olive oil rising from under 5 euros (about 7,500 won) per liter to 14 euros (about 20,700 won) currently. Locally, olive oil, whose price has skyrocketed, is even called "Liquid gold."

Spain, which produces half of the world's olive oil, produced more than 851,000 tons from October last year to May this year. Although this is more than the 664,000 tons produced during the poor harvest in 2022, it falls far short of the usual harvest volume of 1.3 million tons.

Meanwhile, Spain is the largest producer of olive oil and it is one of the essential ingredients used in cooking. However, as olive oil thefts have become more frequent, supermarkets and olive oil companies in Spain have installed anti-theft alarms. Thieves, however, are reportedly using special devices to remove these security measures and continue stealing.

In August last year, about 50,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil were stolen from a factory in C?rdoba, Spain. The value of the stolen olive oil was reported to exceed 420,000 euros (about 621 million won) at the time.