Greece has been hit by a spate of olive oil thefts as prices for the commodity soar due to a poor harvest in the country, The Guardian wrote.
In one raid, thieves stole 37 tonnes of olive oil worth more than €300,000 (US$315,916) from the Polygyros olive oil cooperative in Halkidiki, the 14 October report said.
In a separate incident, more than 100kg of olive oil were reportedly taken from plastic barrels in Messinia.
“We’re talking about very big business,” Manolis Yiannoulis, the head of EDOE, Greece’s olive oil industry association, was quoted as saying.
“When olive oil prices in the last year have increased by 200% because of low yields, there is a lot of money to be had.”
Record prices for the commodity have definitely played a role in the thefts, according to Yiannoulis, whose organisation represents every sector of the industry, from packers to producers.
The prospect of another poor harvest had not eased the situation, The Guardian wrote.
In the week before the report, Yiannis Iliadis, a producer in the region, was quoted as saying olive mills had taken security measures, but the worry was that thieves would target the olive trees next.
“There have been instances of fruit being stolen from orchards at night,” he added.
Climate change has also intensified fears of severe shortage of olive oil in Greece, according to the report.
“We’re looking at Greek production rates being cut by half this year,” EDOE’s Yiannoulis said. “The imbalance in demand and supply is behind the very big price increases.”
Greece is the world’s third biggest olive oil producer after Spain and Italy.