Spanish police have seized 74 tonnes of stolen olives in the southern province of Seville after this year’s poor harvest sent prices soaring, reports Reuters.
Olives ready for salePhoto: Z Jan / Panthermedia / Profimedia
Spanish police also announced that 12 people had been arrested in Pilas, a town with a population of about 14,000, on suspicion of their role in the theft and sale of olives.
Spain is the biggest producer of olives and olive oil, but heat waves when the trees were in bloom and a severe drought have caused production to collapse this year and an unprecedented increase in prices.
Growers expect next year’s crop to face the same problems.
The police also said they also detected thefts of olive oil. Around 6,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil were stolen at the end of September from the producer Terraverne in Teba, a small village in the province of Malaga. Terraverne is known for its high quality olive oil.
Laura Larrubia Nogales, spokeswoman for the company, said that the oil had already been bottled to be delivered to customers.
The theft of olives compared to the theft of jewels in Spain
“Given the prices of olive oil, stealing oil has now become like stealing jewelry,” she told Reuters in a phone interview. Nogales also said his company has never experienced a theft like this before.
She explained that the thieves disabled the cameras and operated at night, causing significant losses. The company has already taken additional security measures.
Nogales said the police have also increased their patrols in the area.
Marin Serrano El Lagar, a producer in Cordoba province, reported a few days later that 50,000 liters of olive oil had been stolen from him.
Dcoop, the largest cooperative of olive oil producers in Spain and the second largest producer nationally, says that so far there have been no thefts at its presses.
But “what is clear is that prices increase the temptation,” the company said in an email to Reuters.
