Farmers report increasing problems with paying their obligations

The number of farmers entered in the National Debtor Register at the end of the first quarter of 2022 fell by nearly 6 percent y/y. On the other hand, the number of such debtors in the BIG InfoMonitor debtors register and in the BIK credit information database increased by 4.5 percent. In addition, it can be seen that the total debt – according to the above registers – decreased by 10.4 percent y/y and 14.1 percent y/y, respectively. On the other hand, the highest number of debtors was recorded in the Mazowieckie and Wielkopolskie voivodeships. Depending on the source of information, the average debt ranges from over PLN 64,000 to just under PLN 295,000. In addition, KRD reports that the statistical debtor has recently been in arrears for nearly three months longer than a year earlier. Experts, however, believe that the data does not reflect reality. And they predict that the following quarters of this year will further deepen the financial problems of the aforementioned group, which will probably be visible in the next analysis.

"The drop in the number of debtors recorded by KRD is most likely a result of the fact that farmers sold their stocks of products accumulated in 2021 and allocated the obtained funds to overdue and current payments. They stopped selling at the end of last year to get slightly better prices this year," Adrian Parol, restructuring advisor and legal counsel, said. 

Restructuring advisor and legal advisor Łukasz Goszczyński, on the other hand, assesses the situation of the whole professional group, more broadly included in BIG InfoMonitor and BIK, as more difficult this year than last. And although the data balances out, they are not very optimistic. It should be noted that first of all, general macroeconomic factors have worsened. Fuel, electricity, and fertilizer prices have risen, as have labor costs. 

(MondayNews)