Economic Projections For Oz Drought - Total Farm Production Off 20%, Crop Output Down 30%

[hatrack]

The drought will have a considerable impact on the economy and bring climate change to the fore in this year's federal election, a new report says. Writing for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia's (CEDA) annual report, economist Chris Caton said there was no question that overall economic growth was currently being affected by serious drought.

"Farm output is expected to fall by about 20 per cent in the current agricultural years," Mr Caton said. The chief economist at BT Financial Group said economic farm growth fell 10 per cent in the September quarter of 2006 and would take 0.5 percentage points off overall gross domestic product growth. "If these estimates turn out to be correct, then the effects of the drought will be somewhat less than in 2002, mainly because of a smaller effect on livestock," Mr Caton said. "The main effect will be on crop production in NSW and WA."

Crop output is expected to fall by about 30 per cent, with wheat output down about 60 per cent. However, wheat stocks are currently quite high, so rural exports need not be greatly affected. "Measured simply by rainfall deficiency, there have been more severe droughts. What makes this one so bad is the fact that it follows so closely the 2002/03 experience," he said.

"Mean rainfall over the five years to September is at a historical low. Combine this with higher temperatures, and you finish with much-reduced sub-soil moisture and much-increased evaporation of surface water."

EDIT

http://bendigo.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=national%20news&subclass=finance&story_id=556117&category=Finance&m=&y=

[terip64]

1. kick

[donsu]

2. kick

nt

[bagrman]

3. Every year the supply gets tighter.

The earth will has it's own way of dealing with overpopulation.
I noticed latly was that the resent warm weather in the east had a great number of fruit trees budding out, and now the deep freeze has settled in, well there isn't going to be any fruit on those trees this year. This isn't to say what happened to the winter wheat crop that started to sprout.
Food for thought.


Latr
chris

[kestrel91316]

5. Here in LA my dwarf apple tree was majorly leafed out (WAAAAYYYY

early) in January, and then the three-day freeze/week of recordbreaking cold hit. No buds anywhere now..........betcha it doesn't produce a damned thing this year. Also, my giant kadota fig tree appears to have completely lost its early crop (the big one) - not a single tiny baby fig anywhere on the tree.

I got 60 days notice to vacate my house (it sold last fall). May as well move back into apartment hell..........can't grow a damned thing in this climate anymore.

[Czolgosz]

4. You'd think that jackass John Howard would have bigger issues than the Democratic primary to occupy

his time.