Gangsters targeting the global food supply chain have surged by 79% over the past year escalating costs British shoppers must pay at the tills.
In 2024 approaching £600 million worth of cargo shipments alone were stolen with hijackers hacking into modern technology to gain pinpoint accuracy of where goods are being transported and enabling them steal directly from ports, railyards and airports.
To mitigate for the mammoth losses, companies are being forced to increase prices for consumers for the goods that reach their final destination.
Security experts say the situation has been exacerbated by a series of climate-related disasters, spiralling global inflation and increased capabilities of cybercriminals who prey on human error.
And whilst there has been a sharp rise in thefts from construction, pharmaceutical and technology industries, it is food, drinks, and agricultural products that remain most at risk.
New research released today reveals that food and beverage thefts rose 79% year-on-year, with a 73% rise for agriculture – accounting for approximately half of all in-transit hijackings.
Food and beverage represented 22% of all product thefts and one in three supply chain hijackings. Agriculture products represented 10% of all product thefts, with electronics accounting for 9% of stolen-in-transit goods.
The analysis by the British Standards Institution (BSI), warned that challenges facing businesses are multiplying in both scope and scale with major heists in the past 12 months including the $2.5m theft of premium olive oil in 18 trucks in the US and 1,000 tons of soybeans being stolen in Argentina.
A BSI spokesperson said: “As prices rise due to a range of factors, food and drink products that are now higher in value become more attractive to criminals. Increases in supply chain thefts are prompting companies to invest more in security in an effort to thwart hijackers and criminals – these extra costs could be passed on to consumers in the cost of products. They could also lead to reduced availability and variety of products.”
Hijacking was the most frequent tactic, accounting for almost a quarter of all incidents, with 52% of all such offences occurring as global goods were transported across South America. Other hijack hotspots were North America and Africa whilst in the UK there has been a rise in strategic thefts, with criminals using deception and digital tools to get their hands on goods instead of staging “old-fashioned” road-side robberies.
Overall, two fifths (41%) of all global thefts occurred in-transit, 21% from warehouses, 4% at unsecured roadside parking, and 4% from parking lots.
Thefts from containers and trailers were down 7%, as thieves globally are now stealing cargo in the form of entire vehicles.
The analysis also uncovered cases of companies or employees staging the hijacking of their own trucks to file fraudulent insurance claims, or warehouse managers and employees taking advantage of incomplete records to siphon untracked goods.
Thieves stealing small quantities over time, which can eventually accumulate to large losses, have become increasingly common
The report also warns that whilst tools such as AI create business benefits, they also represent fresh risks.
BSI chief executive Susan Taylor Martin said: “With supply chains vulnerable to different pressures, businesses must prioritise resilience by leveraging technological innovation, risk management strategies and effective information management.”
BSI President Sergio Nogueira added: “This report highlights the multifaceted challenges that businesses must navigate in their supply chain, from trade disruption and tariffs, to rising instances of fraud and insider risks or the growing vulnerabilities introduced by the digitisation of systems. These challenges are not isolated but deeply interconnected, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to supply chain resilience—viewing all risks together through a single lens.”
