Spanish police have seized 74 tons of stolen olives in the southern province of Seville after this year’s poor harvest sent prices soaring, Reuters reported.

Spanish police also announced that 12 people had been arrested in Pilas, a town of about 14,000 people, on suspicion of their involvement in the theft and sale of olives.

Spain is the largest producer of olives and olive oil, but heat waves when the trees were in bloom and severe drought have caused production to fall this year and prices to rise unprecedentedly.

Growers expect next year’s crop to face the same problems.

The police also reported that they also discovered thefts of olive oil. About 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, a spokeswoman for the company, said the oil has already been bottled for delivery to customers.

The theft of olives has been compared to the theft of jewels in Spain

“Given the prices of olive oil, stealing oil has become like stealing jewelry,” she told Reuters in a telephone interview. Nogales also said his company had never experienced thefts like this before.

She explained that the thieves disabled the cameras and operated at night, causing significant damage. The company has already taken additional security measures.

Nogales said police have also increased patrols in the area.

Marin Serrano El Lagar, a producer from the province of Córdoba, reported a few days later that 50,000 liters of olive oil had been stolen from him.

Dcoop, Spain’s largest olive oil producers’ cooperative and the country’s second-largest producer of olive oil, says there have been no thefts at its presses so far.

But “what is clear is that prices increase the temptation,” the company said in an email to Reuters.