Olive oil is the most stolen product in many Spanish supermarkets, with thieves targeting “liquid gold” in the context of a sudden rise in prices following last year’s drought in the south of the country, which affected the olive harvest, SkyNews and News.ro reported.

According to Ruben Navarro, head of the Tu Super supermarket chain, which operates 30 stores in Spain’s Andalucia region, organized gangs of thieves steal the oil to resell it. “Olive oil became the perfect product for them,” he says.

It is the second most stolen product in all supermarkets in Spain after alcoholic beverages. Iberico ham ranks third in the survey.

A liter of high-quality virgin olive oil, which four years ago cost less than 5 euros, now costs 14 euros.

Spain is the largest producer of olive oil, and families usually buy it in bulk for cooking.

For safety reasons, supermarkets have started tying up large 5-liter canisters of olive oil and locking them on shelves.

Some stores have protective labels on liter bottles that employees must remove.

Jose Izquierdo, head of sales for the Eroski supermarket chain, says, however, that thieves are using magnetic devices to neutralize security mechanisms.

Olive oil is currently the most stolen product in supermarkets in Aragon, Andalucia, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Valencia, Madrid, the Balearic Islands and Extremadura, according to security company STC, which carried out in-store research.

STC marketing director Alejandro Alegre said it was unusual to see a staple food item so high on the theft list. “Olive oil is the only product that can be considered a staple, the others are Iberian ham, aged cheeses, razor blades and alcohol,” Alegre told the Financial Times.

Olive growers and companies that press olives for oil have also been the victims of robberies, with thieves stealing tens of thousands of liters of oil, the FT reported.

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