Thieves reportedly stole $500,000 of olive oil after drought boosted prices, turning it into 'liquid gold'

• Half a million dollars' worth of extra virgin olive oil was stolen in Spain last week, El Mundo reported.
• The manager of the oil mill company said it's becoming "liquid gold."

A group of thieves stole $500,000 worth of extra virgin olive oil from a Spanish oil mill, El Mundo reported, as the liquid soars in price.

At least 50,000 liters was plundered last Wednesday morning near Córdoba, Spain and the country's Civil Guard has opened an investigation, per El Mundo.

The olive oil was stored in a warehouse waiting to be bottled when it was stolen, according to local newspaper Diario Córdoba.

Martin Parra, the manager of the company victim to the theft, told the outlet he believed the thieves must have used two large tankers to transport it, which take up to an hour to fill.

"We have asked several neighbors and no one heard or saw anything, so two large trucks entered, and they left without being seen by anyone," he told Diario Córdoba.

The cost of a bottle of extra virgin olive oil has jumped about 15% since mid-July in Spanish supermarkets, Bloomberg reported.

"Everyone is worried because the price is going to keep climbing, and olive oil is truly becoming liquid gold," Parra said, per Bloomberg.

The price increase is largely due to droughts sparked by heatwaves across Spain, impeding the country's agriculture industry.

According to trade publication Olive Oil Times, estimates for production have been continually revised. Last August, agricultural associations predicted Spain would produce 1 million tons of olive oil in the 2022/23 crop year — a 27% fall from the previous year. But by the end of the harvest, there was around 680,000 tons; a 50% decrease, per Olive Oil Times.