2023-10-25 13:46:25
The number of business failures in the agricultural sector fell by more than 5% in the third quarter, while they continue to increase for other sectors.
In the third quarter of 2023, the number of business failures in the agricultural sector fell by 5.5% compared to the same quarter of 2022, according to figures published by the company Altares. The number of companies in the sector (livestock breeding, cultivation, hunting, fishing and forestry) in proceedings increased in the 1st and 2nd quarters, but less quickly than for other sectors of activity. All sectors combined, business insolvencies increase by 23% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 2022, reaching 10,979 safeguards, reorganizations or liquidations.
Agricultural particularity
The agricultural sector stands out with a decline in defects, comments Altares. Failures reach a total of 172 for the 3rd quarter. Half are files in receivership and the other half in liquidation (only three are safeguards). The livestock sector recorded a sharp drop in the number of failures (-28%), as did the hunting, fishing and forestry sector (-3%), while the crop sector saw an increase (+15%). .
In 2023, the sector currently totals 750 business failures. The latter reached a total number of 1,203 in 2022. They showed an increase of 12% compared to 2021, but had not reached the pre-Covid level of 2018 which was 1,407 business failures.
Alert for SMEs
Altares particularly warns of the situation of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and ETIs (mid-sized enterprises) which represent 8.2% of defaults, i.e. 2% more than the same period in 2019. The most affected are grocery stores, mechanics, hairdressers, intercity carriers “at record levels for 10 years”.
Return to “normal” failures for other sectors.
In this third quarter, the progression of corporate defaults is slowing down, following having increased sharply following the Covid crisis. Altares has recorded 41,000 business failures for all sectors since the start of the year, representing a projection of 55,000 failures in total for 2023. This is a level which would be close to that of 2018 (54,821) before the Covid. 2020 and 2021 had seen a sharp drop in defaults, respectively 32,280 and 28,371 companies, some being artificially supported by state aid.
Marie Salset
1698244281
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