Information from Serasa Experian reveals that the default rate among the rural population was 8.8% in the first quarter of 2026. Compared to the same period in 2025, there was an increase of 1.2 percentage points. The indicator also increased in the quarterly analysis, this time by 0.6 percentage points. The index considers debts of individuals in the Brazilian rural population that are overdue for more than 180 days and have been contracted with companies in sectors related to agribusiness. “The gradual increase in defaults shows that, at the beginning of 2026, rural producers still face challenges in rebuilding their financial capacity. Even with a more favorable outlook for some segments of agribusiness, the effects of previous cycles, with high costs, price fluctuations, and credit restrictions, continue to impact cash flow and payment capacity in the sector,” says Marcelo Pimenta, head of agribusiness at Serasa Experian. Analyzing by size, the index identified that rural producers without rural registration information—potential tenants or members of family/economic groups—registered the highest level of default, at 11%. In descending order were large rural landowners, with 9.9%, medium-sized (8.6%), and small (8.3%). In the regional analysis, the North registered the highest default rate among individual rural producers in the first quarter of 2026, at 13.2%. This was followed by the Northeast (10.2%) and the Central-West (10.1%). The Southeast (7.3%) and South (6.2%) regions presented the lowest rates in the country, reinforcing the differences in rural default behavior among Brazilian regions.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.