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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – New data by the Queensland Treasury has shown that the value of the state’s exports increased by A$10.3-million over the last 12 months, to A$70-billion, with coal accounting for the lion’s share of this growth.
Coal exports increased by more than 19% during the year, or A$4.8-billion, the Treasury noted.
The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) said the data released by the government showed the state’s coal and minerals, excluding liquefied natural gas (LNG), alumina and selected coals, accounted for A$37.6-billion, or 53%, of the state’s total A$70-billion in commodity exports in the 12 months until the end of February.
That was in addition to billions of dollars of value-added resources like LNG and alumina, QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane said on Friday.
“The men and women working across Queensland can be proud of the A$70-billion result. It means more jobs and more revenue for Queensland. In terms of the resources sector, it also means more royalties for the state government to reinvest in services and infrastructure,” he said.
“The resources sector is the largest contributor to Queensland exports, and that is growing. Coal exports increased by A$4.8-billion, or 19%, to more than A$30-billion, while minerals exports also enjoyed double-digit growth (11%) to A$7.3-billion over the last 12 months.”
The Queensland state government in 2017 released its Trade and Invest Strategy 2017 to 2022, which set a target to “increase Queensland’s share of national overseas exports to 22% and maintain through to 2022.
“Without coal and mineral exports, Queensland’s share of Australia’s exports would be only 11%. If we had not enjoyed growth in coal and mineral exports over the last 12 months, Queensland’s share of Australia’s exports would be 21.3%, below the government’s target,” Macfarlane said.
Macfarlane said stable policy, including access to resources, royalty rates and regulation, meant the resources sector was well positioned to ensure the government’s trade target through to 2022 was achieved.
“We are enjoying strong growth in resource exports. We need stable policy to ensure we maintain the investment and our competitive edge in the international marketplace,” he said.