“The objective is to create close coordination between various entities to be able to prevent, dissuade and reduce the problem of agricultural theft”, said the vice-president of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) responsible for the area of agriculture, Pedro Valadas Monteiro.

For this regional manager, thefts of agricultural products are cyclical phenomena that tend to increase with the market price of some of them, namely citrus fruits, carobs and, recently, avocados.

According to the vice-president of the CCDR, it is important to increase supervision and the presence of security forces on the ground to counter this scourge and reduce producers' concerns.

According to the Algarve Farmers' Federation, 3,500 tons of citrus fruits are stolen annually with a value (from the producer) of more than one million euros. In the last three months, the theft of 50 tons of avocado netted €150,000.

The working group that was meeting was created in 2016 due to the theft of citrus fruits – mainly oranges –, and was later expanded to thefts of carob and avocado.

At the meeting in Faro, there were representatives from the CCDR Algarve, which organized the meeting, the GNR, the Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE), the Tax and Customs Authority, the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL) and the Algarve Agriculture Federation (Fedagri).

The vice-president of Fedagri, Diana Ferreira, reported the intensification of avocado thefts, but recalled that the theft of citrus fruits and carob beans have also been “chronic problems” for several years.

Last week, authorities seized more than a ton of avocados and arrested a total of six people for theft of avocados in the Tavira area, where most of the fruit's orchards are concentrated.