According to Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) on September 20, the country's resources and energy commodity export earnings are forecast to reach a record $215 billion in 2011-12.
"The increase in export volumes for many minerals and energy commodities reflects increased mine and infrastructure capacity, particularly for iron ore and coal," said Professor Quentin Grafton, BREE's Executive Director and Chief Economist.
The report forecasts Australia's iron ore export value to increase 26 percent to $68 billion and metalurgical coal export savings to rise 29 percent to $37 billion while in 2011-12, increases in export volumes are forecast for: metallurgical coal up 11 percent to 156 million mt and iron ore up 10 percent to 449 million mt.
However, prices are forecast to ease for a number of commodities reflecting assumed weak economic growth, particularly in north America and Europe. Prices for iron ore, metallurgical and thermal coal, aluminium and nickel are forecast to decrease in 2012 compared with 2011.
Meanwhile, a report previously released by BREE shows that the value of Australia's resources and energy exports in 2010-11 increased by 27 percent from a year earlier to a record $175 billion. The country's iron ore export value was up $19.5 billion or 56 percent while metallurgical coal exports increased $4.6 billion or 19 percent, both compared to 2009-10.