The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has estimated that the recent flooding in eastern Australia is likely to reduce coal exports in the financial year 2010-11 by AU$2-2.5 billion (US$2-2.5 billion).
ABARES deputy executive director Paul Morris said the bureau's ‘Special Report on the Impact of Recent Flood Events on Commodities' is an initial assessment of the effect on Australian commodity production of the recent floods in the eastern states.
"As observed in major natural disasters, significant damage to property and infrastructure has occurred, which has resulted in disruption to economic activity in the flood-affected regions. The value of this lost infrastructure is likely to be much greater than the estimated production impact, but has not been estimated in this report," Mr. Morris said.
It is estimated that Queensland's coal exports could be around 15 million mt lower than previously anticipated between December 2010 and March 2011, representing a reduction in export earnings of around AU$2-2.5 billion. However, it is anticipated that coal prices could be settled at higher levels, partially offsetting the adverse impact on coal industry revenues.