PERTH (miningweekly.com) − Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser on Tuesday warned that a decline in resource exports, caused by the severe weather conditions at the beginning of the year, would impact on the state final demand figures for the March quarter.

Fraser said in a statement that the flooding crisis and Cyclone Yasi had killed off the momentum gained by the Queensland economy in the back half of 2010.

“No-one should be under any illusion as to what we can expect tomorrow,” Fraser warned ahead of the release of the state final demand figures.

“The natural disasters have put significant pressure on every sector of the economy.”

Fraser noted that the balance of payment data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed a “massive drop" in exports. “Nowhere is it more prevalent than in the resources sector, as hard coking coal exports fell by A$1,8-billion over the March quarter, while thermal coal exports fell by A$434-million.”

The Treasurer said that these figures would also have a big impact on the national economy.

“When the state details are released as part of the National Accounts data, we will get the first release from the ABS about the actual extent of the devastating impact those natural disasters have had on our economy,” Fraser said.

He noted that while the state’s economy was experiencing post-disaster challenges, the fundamentals remained strong.

“We have seen numerous recent reports that have outlined Queensland economic recovery before the floods. Access Economics, Westpac and the most recent ABS building expenditure figures all showed a recovering economy, fuelled by surging investment.”

Fraser said that while the natural disasters had put the brakes on the recovery, he was confident that through the reconstruction activity and continued investment, led by the resources sector, there would be a big bounce-back in 2011/12.
 

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