Australian farmers have lost $61.5 billion in export income since the mining boom pushed the Australian dollar to historic highs, a new analysis by The Australia Institute reveals.
Still beating around the bush: The continuing impacts of the
mining boom on rural exports examines the rural sector’s
export income from the beginning of the mining boom in 2003-04
until 2011-12. The paper is being launched at a public forum in
Tamworth tonight.
The Australia Institute’s Senior Economist and report author
Matt Grudnoff says producers have fared badly as a result of the
high Australian dollar, suffering a 47 per cent drop in export
earnings since the boom began.
“The mining boom is great if you work in the mining industry.
But for other sectors in the Australian economy which rely on
export earnings the boom has come at an enormous cost,” he
says.
“Our farmers are price-takers not price-setters. This has meant
that the surge in the Australian dollar due to the mining boom has
had the knock-on effect of reducing the value of their
exports.”
Within the rural sector, the cotton and wheat industry have been
severely affected by the mining boom. Cotton has lost $1.3 billion
in 2011-12 and $2.5 billion over the nine years of the boom, while
the wheat industry has lost $3 billion in 2011-12 alone and $8.3
billion over the nine years.
However, it’s not just cotton and wheat exports that are being
affected.
The beef and veal industry have also been greatly impacted with
export income cut by $2.3 billion over 2010-11 and $8.5 billion
over the length of the boom and the sugar industry losing $815
million in 2010-11 and $2.7 billion over the boom.
“For the Australian economy to remain strong it needs to have
many viable industries. If the mining boom is allowed to ruin the
rural sector then who will be left to fill the employment gap when
the mining boom ends,” says Grudnoff.
“Farmers all around the country have every right to question
whether their elected representatives have shown enough regard for
the impact of the boom on their livelihoods. History is full of
examples of economies that failed because they were too reliant on
a few industries,” he concludes.