A lot of the world's most expensive foods get smuggled, but not always for the same reasons. And some smugglers even say they have legitimate reasons for illegally cashing in. We take a look at six of the world's most expensive foods we've covered and why they are smuggled. For all of them, the high prices come with high demand. This creates a big incentive for smugglers, who are looking for ways to cut corners and cash in. So why are smugglers targeting these foods? And how are governments and food producers fighting back?
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00:00In 2016, an international smuggler was fined $9.8 million after taking golden kiwi sprouts
00:09to China.
00:10A few years earlier, thieves siphoned $18.4 million worth of Quebec's pure maple syrup.
00:18And in 2022, authorities caught smugglers transporting $2.2 million worth of these clear
00:25pear lobster larvae from Indonesia to Singapore.
00:29A lot of the world's most expensive foods get smuggled.
00:34So depending on the strategy, all they need to do is get that price lower.
00:38But some smugglers say they have legitimate reasons for illegally cashing in.
00:45So what leads to food smuggling?
00:47And how are governments and food producers fighting back?
00:52Food smugglers often 1.
00:54Exploit products with high demand, creating black markets, 2.
00:58Exploit environmental protections meant to limit supply, or 3.
01:03Exploit specific household brands to make a profit.
01:06New Zealand's golden kiwis and Canada's maple syrup fall into this last category.
01:12They can't be grown by just anybody, anywhere.
01:15This limits supply, keeps prices high, and attracts smugglers.
01:22Pure maple syrup was at the center of one of Canada's biggest heists.
01:28In general, pure maple syrup is rare and time-consuming to make.
01:33A bottle of Grade A maple syrup can cost over $40.
01:38That's almost 15 times as expensive as popular imitation syrup.
01:44So table syrup, that is actually not maple syrup.
01:47It's usually corn syrup or cane syrup, maybe a little bit of maple flavoring added to it
01:53because it's not from maple tree at all.
01:56And while this syrup was tapped in New York, and this was tapped in Vermont, Canada produces
02:01the most maple syrup of any nation, with Quebec leading the way.
02:06Syrup from the province is heavily regulated by the organization Quebec Maple Syrup Producers,
02:12also known simply as the Federation.
02:14The Federation sets the quality standards and the price for all maple syrup made in
02:19Quebec, but also sets quotas on how many trees producers can tap.
02:25The journalist Brendan Burrell reported on the maple syrup heist in Quebec in 2012.
02:31At the time I was working on this article, there were about 7,000 farms that were producing
02:35maple syrup, and there was a waiting list of about 1,200 farms.
02:39And pretty much year after year, they weren't adding anybody to the list.
02:44These other farms weren't allowed to officially sell their syrup within the province, which
02:48led to an underground market.
02:51Farms in other Canadian provinces in the U.S. were ready to buy this surplus syrup for cash.
02:56By this point, the Federation was already reserving about 10% of Quebec's production
03:02a year, housing it in a warehouse.
03:04The floor is all sticky, and all these barrels are stacked like six high.
03:09Each barrel is worth, by the way, like about $1,200.
03:13This ensured constant supply, even during a bad harvest year.
03:18But it also laid the foundation for the great Canadian maple syrup heist.
03:22Turned out there was an insider, a guy who rented space next door.
03:28Every evening, he would let in the gang of rebels to come in and siphon out the maple
03:34syrup.
03:35In many cases, they replaced the syrup with water so that nobody would notice, and then
03:40they drove away.
03:41And because there was already this kind of underground economy operating, they had people
03:46who were willing to buy the syrup and had sort of these trade routes to get it out of
03:49Quebec and out of Canada.
03:52Between 2011 and 2012, 6 million gallons worth 18.4 million US dollars were stolen
03:59from the warehouse.
04:00So it put a dent on syrup demand, and farmers don't get paid until their syrup gets sold.
04:07The heist didn't stop production, which continued to rise, but by then, the market
04:12had changed.
04:14Quebec wasn't the only player anymore.
04:17Between the introduction of the Federation's quotas in 2020, maple syrup production in
04:22Vermont increased by 264%.
04:25Ultimately, this boils down to being an ideological debate.
04:30I mean, on the one side, you have this very controlled socialist system where, you know,
04:36it's like all for one, one for all.
04:38You know, we're going to agree to only sell this much and at this price because it benefits
04:42us as a group versus sort of the free market philosophy.
04:47A lot of our recommendations to governments are pull back on the laws.
04:51You know, it's, you want to control, you want to maintain safety, right, consumer safety,
04:56you want to ensure fair trade, competition.
05:00That's what lowers prices, not artificially introducing excise taxes or different, you
05:06know, laws that create differences between markets or across borders that facilitate
05:12smuggling, for example.
05:15Another smuggling debate is happening across the globe between New Zealand and China, this
05:19time about a special fruit.
05:22The golden kiwi is a unique strain of kiwi fruit developed through crossbreeding to be
05:27sweeter and softer than a normal green kiwi.
05:31While green kiwis have a thick, hairy skin that provides a protective layer, golden kiwis
05:38are completely hairless and much more easily damaged.
05:42Even though they're smaller, golden kiwis cost almost twice as much as green kiwis.
05:47This particular variety of golden kiwi, called sun gold, is controlled by Zespri, a cooperative
05:53of kiwi fruit growers in New Zealand.
05:59This perfected strain has an export value of $253 million New Zealand dollars.
06:06Growing golden kiwis is so lucrative that it's caused a feud between New Zealand and
06:11China, where the fruit is native, because not just anyone can grow these kiwis.
06:17Zespri only releases a certain number of licenses every year and growers bid on them.
06:22In 2022, the median price for a sun gold license hit $801,000 per hectare.
06:30We have IP protections around who's able to grow it and who shouldn't be growing it.
06:35And gold kiwi fruit is, it's a handcrafted product.
06:39Yeah, we grow it in nature, but so many hours go into it.
06:43They get touched so much, and whether it be fertilization, pruning, tying down the pruning
06:50wood, thinning flowers, it just needs so much attention.
06:55However, after a kiwi grower successfully smuggled sun gold sprouts overseas, a number
07:01of illegal orchards popped up in China.
07:04The smuggler was fined $14 million New Zealand dollars in damages.
07:08But since then, the unauthorized sun gold orchards have soared.
07:13So much so that at one point, there were more illegal golden kiwis than legal ones.
07:21In 2022, China was growing 12,000 hectares of golden kiwis and New Zealand, 9,000.
07:30In 2023, Zespri estimated the numbers in China were back down to about 8,000, but Zespri
07:37is still fighting, and it's starting to take legal action against individual growers.
07:43One of the things that comes to my mind when I see that is intellectual property rights
07:48aren't just limited to consumer products, or electronics, or clothing, or handbags,
07:54or watches.
07:55You know, we think about that.
07:56But it's also a big aspect of innovation in the agricultural sector.
08:04Here at Wairoa Orchard, located in Kerikeri in the heart of Northland, New Zealand, golden
08:10kiwis are carefully harvested with gloved hands.
08:14It can be five years before a new sun gold kiwi orchard is ready for harvest.
08:19Most of the work is orchard care.
08:21I don't think a lot of people actually understand how much labor and work goes into creating
08:27the product that they're eating.
08:29That's a significant loss of revenue to these corporations.
08:33In addition, their brand is being jeopardized, right?
08:38They've invested a lot to do that.
08:41And then someone comes along and steals it.
08:44Most importantly, all that time was put into developing that seed.
08:49Consumer buys that seed, there's no logo on it.
08:53Their IP is at risk.
08:55And what's that say to other developers?
08:57You try to develop something new, and you think, well, why bother if it's just going
09:01to be stolen the next day?
09:04Sometimes there's no ideological debate.
09:08Smugglers see foods with high demand and take shortcuts.
09:12That's what happened with pearl lobsters, fish maw, and stockfish, each of which had
09:19their own black market.
09:22Stockfish is cod that's dried by cold air and wind without using salt.
09:28And the market has all the qualities that entice smugglers.
09:32First, stockfish has to be imported.
09:35Due to Nigeria's hot and humid climate, stockfish has to be dried here in Norway, where there
09:43are entire operations dedicated to the seafood.
09:46Second, it's expensive.
09:49A full drying rack like this is worth over $500,000.
09:55And it sells for $65 per kilogram, seven times as much as other popular fish like croaker.
10:03Third, the demand is high.
10:06You know, this cod, from Norway, we don't have a challenge selling stockfish when we
10:14see it imported.
10:15And we sell as much as we bring.
10:17In Nigeria, we love stockfish a lot.
10:22That's Abby Cheke.
10:24She's the fisheries consultant at the Norwegian Seafood Council.
10:28The production is limited in Norway.
10:31And in Nigeria, we are over 200 million people.
10:35And I would say out of these 200 million people, at least 60% are adults who eat this product.
10:44So we can never have enough brought in.
10:47In 2015, Nigeria imported $8.94 million worth of stockfish from Norway.
10:55But how does the black market work?
10:57Stockfish normally comes through the Nigerian ports.
11:02And the duty on stockfish heads is 10%.
11:07On stockfish body is 20%.
11:10Because we see stockfish body as a luxury food product, mainly for the elite.
11:19Those import duties are reflected in the final price the consumer pays, making the product
11:23more expensive.
11:26To evade these duties, smugglers started operating in Nigeria's neighboring countries, and then
11:31smuggled the fish over land borders.
11:35A lot of that is tax arbitration.
11:38We have two neighboring countries.
11:40One country has a higher tax.
11:41One country has a lower tax.
11:44So they can move products between one country or the other and avoid the taxes, thereby
11:50charging a slightly lower price to the consumer.
11:54And that's what drives smuggling.
11:56Those that paid the duty, they were selling like 65,000 naira per bag of 30 kilos.
12:05Those that come in illegally, black marketers through the land borders, would actually sell
12:12at 50,000 naira.
12:14So you can see a disparity of 15,000 naira.
12:20To fight smuggling, Nigeria closed its land borders in 2019, easing trade for many dealers.
12:27Roughly 10,000 metric tons of stockfish entered Nigeria in the years leading up to 2023.
12:34Before the federal government of Nigeria closed its land borders, I would have said
12:40we would have had about 45% of that 10,000 tons coming illegally into Nigeria.
12:49But within this past three, two years, I would say illegality of stockfish trade through
12:57the closed land borders will just be about 3% to 5%.
13:02But Abbie says the most important move Nigeria made was simplifying the legal process for
13:08importing stockfish and making sure traders understood just how simple the process could be.
13:14That's why they say awareness, information is power.
13:20This awareness is making a difference.
13:23Abbie says there are now 150,000 people involved in the stockfish trade, up from 90,000 when
13:29the black market was operating.
13:36While Nigerians love stockfish, Chinese consumers across the globe can't get enough of fish
13:42maw, and that high demand has led to a growing black market.
13:47It's this balloon-like internal organ known as a fish maw or a swim bladder.
13:53Fish maw is traditionally considered one of the four treasures of Cantonese cuisine, along
13:58with shark fin, abalone, and sea cucumber.
14:17Dried fish maws can sell for up to $800 a pound, but older maws like this one from a
14:23large slate cod croaker are valued as high as $4,000 for a single piece.
14:31But the supply chain in China is facing a big problem.
14:35Fish maw is so prized that Chinese waters have been overfished, leading to new limits
14:40preventing local fishers from catching and selling.
14:43Today, the majority of fish maw is imported from other countries, including Uganda, where
14:49fishing for an invasive species called Nile perch on Lake Victoria has become a lucrative
14:54business for locals.
14:57I fish because I need fish maw.
15:00Because fish maw is like gold to my side, you understand?
15:04We used to throw it, but we used to throw the bladder because it was no sense.
15:10We wanted that meat, but nowadays, money.
15:17In just five years, from 2014 to 2019, the fish maw trade in Uganda grew from $35 million
15:25to $76 million.
15:27The organ is so prized that smuggling and theft are rampant in the industry.
15:33Fishers like Amber Francis place their bait in the water and come back later to check their catches.
15:40Each hook is demarcated with a bottle so he knows which lines belong to him.
15:45But smugglers have learned that too.
15:49Unfortunately, you go there, you find nothing, when everything was taken by those thieves there.
15:55This is a huge loss for fishers who have already made a big investment to get into the trade.
16:03Not everyone can afford the initial investment of equipment, which includes a government-licensed
16:08boat, an engine, plus regulation hooks and bait.
16:14Yeah, actually, it requires a lot of capital, yeah, to deal in fishing Nalpash.
16:22Like me as a fisherman, just one boat, I require like 15 million shillings.
16:27Smugglers, on the other hand, operate without a license and keep their fishing costs much lower,
16:33maximizing profits.
16:35The vessels that these people go out in are barely seaworthy, right?
16:40So their costs right from the beginning on capital are low.
16:44Crime is also an issue on land.
16:47Hakim says some of his colleagues have been robbed while transporting their goods to Chinese buyers.
17:00Because of the regulations and pricey entry into the trade in Uganda,
17:05some fishers, like David Oliyavu, have given up on Nalperch and the fishmore trade completely
17:11and turned to cage farming as a safer investment and a cheaper alternative.
17:16In fish farming, you are sure that at least at the end of the season you will harvest this.
17:22You expect, you have projections, you plan.
17:26But as a fisherman, you don't plan.
17:28You go, you don't know what you'll get. It's a game of chances.
17:33While the Nalperch in Lake Victoria is considered an invasive species,
17:38for years fishmore has been linked to the illegal fishing of endangered species worldwide.
17:45A large croaker in Mexico's Gulf of California called the totoaba is now in danger of extinction.
17:52But this fish, often dubbed the cocaine of the sea, is still illegally trafficked into China.
17:58In April 2023, US Customs seized $2.7 million worth of totoaba fishmore
18:05hidden in a shipment of frozen fish fillets in Arizona.
18:12In Indonesia, smugglers are after something much smaller to the eye.
18:17These tiny clear larvae are pearl lobsters.
18:21An adult lobster can cost nearly $100 a kilogram,
18:25six times as expensive as other popular varieties like Maine lobsters.
18:31They're known for their blue-green shells, rainbow-coloured spots and extra-long antennae.
18:51Pearl lobsters are found throughout the Indian Ocean and West Pacific, from Africa to northern Australia.
18:57But the waters around Indonesia are where their largest communities exist, like here in Ekis Bay.
19:04The demand for Indonesian lobsters, particularly pearl lobsters,
19:08is very high in countries like Singapore, China and Vietnam.
19:14Wild pearl lobsters are always more expensive
19:17because they tend to be larger than their captive counterparts.
19:37They're not available year-round, so Indonesia started farming them.
19:41It's not an easy job, but it can be very profitable.
19:48The results are very supportive for my family.
19:52My family is able to pay for my son's school and other needs.
20:00Breeders like Merdim raise pearl lobsters in captivity.
20:04This method ensures a more reliable supply of lobsters.
20:07But keeping them healthy is no easy feat.
20:11The lobster larvae, or seeds as they're called, are placed in nets that float directly in the ocean.
20:16Exposed to natural elements.
20:39But perhaps even riskier, they're exposed to smugglers.
20:43Large suitcases of larvae are smuggled to Singapore and from there exported to Vietnam and China.
20:49Singapore is asking its lobster traders for clearer paperwork.
20:53But the illegal activity doesn't seem to stop.
20:56A suitcase seized in May 2024 had over $300,000 worth of larvae.
21:03The smugglers are facing an eight-year prison sentence and a $92,000 fine.
21:08But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
21:12The Indonesian government estimates that in 2019 alone, it lost more than $64 million in revenue to illegal exports.
21:22Indonesian authorities have been trying to tackle the issue for years.
21:26Banning exports of all lobster larvae in 2016 and again in 2021.
21:32But that didn't stop smugglers.
21:35In autumn 2022, authorities caught smugglers transporting $2.2 million worth of lobster larvae.
21:43In 2024, Indonesia decided to resume exports to capitalize on global trade.
21:49Exports are only open to Vietnam, which relies solely on imported larvae for its lobster farms.
21:58Indonesia is expected to receive $1.2 billion from Vietnam for the larvae.
22:05While maple syrup and golden kiwis are limited by quotas to localize production, other foods need quotas to be saved from extinction.
22:14That's the case with Spanish baby eels.
22:17But smugglers disregard those limits.
22:22Anguilas are the young of the European eel.
22:25They are a delicacy in Spain where every year they're auctioned off for thousands of dollars.
22:32This kilogram of baby eels has just sold for over $7,000.
22:37And while anguilas are prized for their crunchy texture, they have a very mild taste, almost non-existent.
22:50But anguilas are tiny.
22:52Fishers need to catch 3,000 of them to reach one kilo,
22:57a task that requires spending entire nights in the water, in total darkness, braving strong tides and stormy seas.
23:15Eel scarcity is the result of years of overfishing.
23:20It's estimated that the European eel population has declined by 95% since the 80s.
23:26Many countries have set strict fishing quotas in response to this decline.
23:33Eel fishing here in Riba de Sella is heavily regulated.
23:37Fishers like Manolo are only allowed to fish baby eels between November and February, with five mandatory rest days each month.
23:46Each fisher needs to hold a license, and certain beaches are no fishing zones.
23:51Breaking any of these rules can cost as much as €6,000.
23:55These regulations mean that the price of anguilas has skyrocketed in recent decades.
24:16Manolo has been fishing eels for the last 33 years.
24:20He's one of 46 fishers here in Riba de Sella who are licensed to fish anguilas.
24:31But smugglers are making things difficult.
24:34Despite the quotas, eels are still fished illegally.
24:39In 2017, Spanish police uncovered an international trafficking operation headed for China which included €2 million worth of anguilas.
24:49Between 2022 and 2023, Europol arrested 256 people responsible for trafficking an estimated €13 million worth of baby eels.
25:02This uncertainty is pushing up the price for legally caught anguilas even further.
25:08The first-day auctions generate a lot of buzz, with chefs arriving from all over Spain to make their bids.
25:15But it's unclear if the seasons to come will be able to support this rise in demand.
25:20The European eel is listed as critically endangered and fewer than 50% of the population.
25:27The European eel is listed as critically endangered and fewer and fewer baby eels arrive at the beaches of Riba de Sella each year.
25:57Not all baby eels cost over €7,000. Cost is variable depending on the time of the year.
26:03That's why, for fishers like Manolo, it's impossible to rely on just anguila fishing for a living.
26:11For me, the first-day auction is not a big deal.
26:18The important thing is the remaining three months and 29 days.
26:24In the last 50 years, the demand for the increasingly scarce eels has risen so much that gulas, a cheaper copy of baby eels, were born.
26:33Gulas are made of surimi, the same fish paste used to make imitation crab, and cost 62 times less than angulas.
26:41They are now just as popular as the real thing.
26:46Smuggling doesn't just worsen environmental problems like overfishing, it also causes them.
26:52Smuggled produce can carry invasive pests that damage crops.
26:57There's a real-life example right now going on in California with fruit fly outbreaks, which have been some of the worst outbreaks that we've seen in 70 years.
27:06California started fighting the fruit fly in the 60s, and since then, things have only gotten worse.
27:13In 2023, the infestation got so bad, some 79 square miles of Los Angeles County were placed under quarantine.
27:23The fly is native to Asia. It's unclear which fruit brought it to California, but authorities believe it may have been introduced by travelers or by mail.
27:33These pests don't just damage crops. They also damage trade relationships between countries.
27:41Invasive species in general are expected to have about a $40 million impact on U.S. agriculture here on an annual basis, and that's just here in the United States.
27:52Across the world, the United Nations expects that invasive species has about a $220 billion impact and loses about $220 billion worth of exportability just by the presence of invasive species.
28:22The United States is the world's largest exporter of invasive species, and the United States is the world's largest exporter of invasive species.
28:37The United States is the world's largest exporter of invasive species.
28:47The United States is the world's largest exporter of invasive species.
28:57The United States is the world's largest exporter of invasive species.
29:07The United States is the world's largest exporter of invasive species.