It's so expensive that thieves are after it

Olive oil, the price of which has skyrocketed due to poor weather conditions and drought, is turning into a global problem. In the US, the largest buyer of Mediterranean olive oil, the price per metric ton has exceeded 9 thousand dollars. According to the New York Times, prices could surpass the historic peak of 10 thousand dollars next year due to yield losses.

The olive harvest has begun under the shadow of drought. Yields have fallen, and prices are at record levels. New countries have been added to the list of those restricting olive oil exports. Theft gangs are stealing tons of olive oil from markets and warehouses.

In his article addressing the crisis in olive oil, İrfan Donat from Oksijen drew attention to the recently increasing theft cases.

Relevant sections of Donat's article are as follows:

"With supply tightened, stocks at the point of exhaustion, and prices reaching record levels, olive oil is currently as valuable as 'gold,' so to speak, and has therefore entered the radar of thieves and organized gangs. The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that 50 thousand liters of extra virgin olive oil worth 500 thousand Euros were stolen from an oil factory in Cordoba, Spain, at the end of August.

ACCORDING TO GREEK MEDIA, IT IS AS VALUABLE AS JEWELRY

But this is not the first case... The Spanish media also shared news of the theft of 6 thousand liters of extra virgin olive oil worth 50 thousand euros from another factory. At the beginning of October, Spanish police seized 74 tons of stolen olives in an operation in the province of Seville, where 12 people were detained. Recently in Spain, theft cases targeting olives and olive oil are not only occurring in large-scale organized ways. It is noted that olive and olive oil theft is also increasing in supermarkets. Spain is not the only country where such cases are occurring. In recent weeks, news appeared in the Greek media that 37 tons of olive oil were stolen from the storage facilities of the 200-member Polygyros Olive Oil Cooperative.

News about the olive oil, which is estimated to have an economic value of more than 370 thousand euros, appeared in the Greek media with headlines such as, 'They are no longer stealing jewelry, but olive oil,' and 'Olive oil has become liquid gold.'

Turkey is also getting its share of olive oil theft. Last month, three suspects were caught in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale with 210 liters of olive oil in canisters. Olive oil thefts have also occurred in the Milas district of Muğla, Aydın's Nazilli, and Tekirdağ's Şarköy."