Brazil is going through an unprecedented business crisis. The year 2024 marked a turning point for the Brazilian economy. According to data from Serasa Experian, the country registered 2,273 requests for judicial reorganization, a growth of 61.81% compared to 2023 and the highest volume since the beginning of the historical series in 2006. This alarming number reveals not only specific difficulties, but a structural crisis affecting companies of all sizes.
The combination of a restrictive monetary policy, with the Selic rate at 14.75%, persistent inflation, and credit restrictions has created a hostile environment for the productive sector. This dual impact puts pressure on profit margins and reduces investment capacity, creating a vicious cycle of financial deterioration.
Default rates have reached critical levels, with 7.2 million companies in debt, representing 31.61% of active businesses in the country. Of this total, 6.8 million are Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), which have accumulated debts exceeding R$141.6 billion.1. The Services sector leads this worrying scenario, with 52.81% of delinquent businesses, followed by Commerce, with 35% of delinquent businesses.1.
Data available up to August 2025 indicates that this trend continues, with requests for judicial reorganization remaining at high levels. Despite the 3.51% drop in bankruptcy filings recorded in 2024, the significant increase in judicial reorganizations demonstrates that companies are seeking alternatives to avoid permanent closure.
In this context, agribusiness, a sector that for years served as a pillar of Brazil's GDP, has revealed its vulnerabilities and is now at the epicenter of a financial crisis that is pushing it towards the courts. Data from Serasa Experian reveals that 82 companies related to the segment filed for bankruptcy protection in the first quarter of 2024, record numbers since 2018.2. Although it does not represent a widespread crisis, these indicators raise an alert about the financial health of one of the pillars of the Brazilian economy.
Agro-processing industries, which use agricultural products as raw materials, are the most affected, totaling 38 companies in judicial reorganization. Next are wholesale agricultural product businesses and agricultural support service businesses.2. This concentration in specific links of the production chain highlights structural vulnerabilities that go beyond cyclical factors.
The record increase in bankruptcy filings by producers and companies in the sector is not an isolated event, but the most acute symptom of a "perfect storm" combining adverse weather conditions, economic pressures, and a new legal landscape.
We are talking about extreme weather events, such as the 2023 drought and the devastating floods in the South in 2024, which decimated crops and compromised production. Simultaneously, the fall in grain prices on the international market drastically reduced producers' income. Added to this equation was the high cost of rural financing, driven by high interest rates, forming a triad that eroded the sector's ability to pay and raised alarms throughout the production chain, from agribusinesses to support services.
The main indicator of this crisis is undoubtedly Banco do Brasil. Responsible for half of the country's rural financing, the institution has seen its numbers deteriorate. With 808 agribusiness clients in judicial reorganization and 20,000 overdue accounts, the most alarming fact is that 741 of these debtors were historically compliant until 2023.4. This dismantles the simplistic narrative of mismanagement and highlights a systemic crisis. The impact was direct on the bank's results, which recorded a 40.71% drop in net profit in the first half of 2025, forcing a reduction in dividend distribution and a more aggressive stance in debt collection and cooperation with the Attorney General's Office (AGU) and the National Council of Justice (CNJ) to combat abusive practices.
The institution projects profits between R$ 21 and R$ 25 billion for 2025, significantly lower than the R$ 37.9 billion obtained in 2024, reflecting not only the agribusiness crisis but also the impacts of the new accounting rules implemented by the National Monetary Council.
To understand why the countryside is knocking on the door of justice, it is necessary to analyze the convergence of factors that has transformed the exception into a worrying trend.
Coinciding with this economic deterioration, a crucial legislative change opened the doors of the judiciary to the agricultural sector. Law 14.112/2020 brought significant changes to the Judicial Reorganization and Bankruptcy Law (Law 11.101/2005) and expressly included individual rural producers in the restructuring regime, settling a long-standing legal debate. This change, which came into effect in 2021, created an asset protection tool that, in the face of the crisis, came to be seen as a viable alternative for thousands of producers who previously avoided the complexity of judicial processes.
The result was an exponential increase in requests for judicial reorganization in the rural sector, contributing significantly to the records registered in 2024.
Law 14.112/2020 also established specific rules for agribusiness, creating five new categories of credits not subject to judicial reorganization for rural producers. These exclusions aim to protect certain types of creditors considered essential for the continuity of rural activity, such as input suppliers and providers of specialized services.
However, the application of the new law brought its own challenges. The exponential increase in requests generated tensions between creditors and debtors, with institutions such as Banco do Brasil arguing that judicial reorganization is used as a strategy to reduce debt, and not as a last resort for survival.
,The inherent complexity of rural activity, with its seasonality and climate dependence, makes the development of viable recovery plans an arduous task. This controversy led the National Council of Justice (CNJ) to evaluate more rigorous criteria for granting requests, a move that could lead to a setback in the legal protection recently achieved by producers.
The crisis in agribusiness, therefore, is a multifaceted phenomenon that transcends a simple sectoral issue, threatening the stability of the financial system. Overcoming it will require more than adjustments to economic policy. It will be necessary to ensure the balanced application of corporate recovery legislation, safeguarding its objectives without allowing abuses. The health of agribusiness is vital to the Brazilian economy, and restoring its sustainability is a challenge that demands an integrated approach between public policies, the justice system, and the sector itself.
References
- [1] FecomercioSP. (May 21, 2025). Silent crisis: Brazil registers record number of bankruptcy filings and defaults among companies. https://www.fecomercio.com.br/noticia/crise-silenciosa-brasil-registra-recorde-de-recuperacoes-judiciais-e-inadimplencia-entre-empresas
- [2] Serasa Experian. (September 11, 2024). Judicial Reorganization: 82 companies related to agribusiness filed for judicial reorganization in the first quarter of 2024., reveals Serasa Experian.
- [3] Brazil Agro. (2025, August 18). BB, with 808 agribusiness clients in judicial reorganization, revises strategies..
- [4] Agência Brasil. (2025, August 14). BB reports profit of R$ 11.2 billion in the first half of the year, a decrease of 40.7%.
Victor Ferrari He is a lawyer specializing in Judicial Reorganization and a partner at the law firm Mazzucco&Mello Advogados.