MADRID, Nov 20 Reuters In Spain, the world39;s biggest olive oil producer, supermarkets are locking up bottles of the staple cooking oil as prices surge and theft increases.

Onelitre bottles of extravirgin olive oil are selling for as much as 14.5 euros 15.77 in some supermarkets, propelling olive oil into the category of products retailers fit with security tags, alongside spirits, cosmetics and appliances.

We are seeing a major surge in shoplifting, said Ruben Navarro, the CEO of Tu Super supermarket chain, which operates 30 stores in Spain39;s Andalucia region. Olive oil has become an ideal product for them to steal.

Olive oil prices, now officially at 8 euros a litre, have surged by 150 over the past two years in Spain as a scorching drought in the south has dented the olive harvest. Organised criminal gangs are stealing the oil to resell, Navarro said.

Since September, Tu Super has been chaining large 5litre bottles of olive oil together and padlocking them to shelves to prevent theft.

It is a crazy, extreme measure, but it has worked, Navarro said.

Tu Super is not the only one tightening security in some Carrefour and Auchan supermarkets in Madrid, onelitre bottles are fitted with security tags that have to be removed by staff.

STC, a Spanish company providing antitheft solutions to retailers, saw a 12fold increase in orders this summer from supermarkets for devices to protect olive oil bottles, managing partner Salvador Canones told Reuters.

Spanish…