Brazil’s government close to finalizing proposal on farmers’ debt renegotiation

BRASILIA, May 20 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government is expected to finalize in the coming days a proposal for the renegotiation of debt in the agribusiness sector, Finance Minister Dario Durigan said on Wednesday, adding the program should include a credit guarantee fund for farmers.

Durigan told reporters that the ministry agreed at a meeting with senators that a debt renegotiation program for the sector should also have longer payment periods than those initially proposed by the government.

He said the grace period for transactions should be two years, as opposed to the one year initially proposed by the Finance Ministry. The total repayment period is expected to be 10 years, compared with the initial forecast of six years.

The minister added the government continues to argue that only producers who can prove actual losses due to adverse weather events should have access to renegotiation with benefits.

Earlier this month, the government relaunched a consumer debt relief program introduced in 2023, aiming to cut interest burdens and boost disposable income ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s re-election bid in October.

(Reporting by Bernardo Caram in Brasilia; Writing by Fernando Cardoso;Editing by Matthew Lewis)