BRAZIL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Flávia Santanna Benites, Priscila Camargo, Jhonatan Poiana and Sandro Miguel Junior, Ernesto Borges Advogados
The sector’s macroeconomic relevance The solidity of agribusiness is decisive for Brazil’s macroeconomic balances. The country is among the main global exporters of soybeans, corn, coffee, sug- ar, meat, cotton and cellulose, yielding trade surpluses essential for drawing foreign exchange, and for the stability of external accounts. According to surveys by Cepea/CNA, the gross domestic product in the agricultural and livestock sectors reached about BRL3.13 trillion, accounting for an estimated 22.8% of the domestic economy in 2026. This scale shows that agribusiness does not operate in isolation. The sector supports a complex agro-industrial chain that integrates rural produc- ers, manufacturers, multinational trading companies, logistics operators, co-operatives, insurance compa- The complexity of current agricultural contracts – including barter operations, CPRs, leases, hedge derivatives and advance purchases of supplies – has rendered empirical and informal management obso- lete. Corporate governance was previously restrict- ed to large publicly traded companies but has now become indispensable for medium and large rural pro- ducers, requiring clarity in decision-making structures, strict internal controls and reliable accountability. Professionalising rural activity means decoupling per- sonal and business assets, calculating real costs per hectare, projecting multi-year cash flows, and meas- uring exposures to market risks. Audited financial statements and transparent data reduce information asymmetry between the producer and its trading part- ners, preserving good faith in contractual relations, and ensuring more accurate risk assessments by creditors and investors. Credit structure, legal certainty and soundness of contractual relations Agricultural activity requires a high volume of capital to cover production costs, the acquisition of machinery and the formation of inventories, in a context marked by the mismatch between the initial disbursements and the subsequent settlement of the crops. In a sce- nies, banks and the capital market. Governance, professionalisation and accountability
nario of high interest rates and greater selectivity on the part of financial agents, the quality and transpar- ency of the producer’s economic information directly influence the conditions for raising funds, such as rates, terms and guarantee requirements. When accounting data is inconsistent or fragment- ed, access to credit facilities tends to become more restricted and costly. Therefore, the professional man- agement of indebtedness is essential to ensure that the credit facility secured corresponds to the effective cash generation capacity of the property. This financial planning is related directly to legal cer- tainty, which is one of the bases for the continuity of private investments, and financing for agriculture. As agribusiness involves long-term operations and future commitments to the physical delivery of goods, the stability of the production chain depends on regulatory predictability and the observance of contracts entered into between producers, suppliers, traders and finan- ciers. Strict compliance with contractual obligations – coupled with transparency regarding the existence of liens, encumbrances and assignments of receiva- bles – contributes to strengthening the institutional environment and reducing the perception of risk. The combination of financial difficulties, greater rigour in granting credit, and insecurity in contractual rela- tions helps to explain the increase in court-supervised reorganisation petitions in the sector. The growth of these requests highlights the need for more efficient mechanisms for financial diagnosis, asset governance and preventative risk management. In this context, court-supervised reorganisation remains an important instrument for preserving viable economic activity, but also highlights the importance of preventative structures for financial control, legal certainty and corporate governance. Evolution of governance: from financial management to tax governance If financial, accounting and equity professionalisa- tion has become indispensable for the continuity of rural businesses, the same logic now reaches the tax sphere.
28 AGRICULTURAL LAW 2026
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