AUSTRALIA
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Drought Continues: Much of central and eastern Australia is being devastated by a fourth consecutive year of low rainfall. A prolonged drought could slow the nation’s growth, blunt government plans to whittle the budget deficit and aggravate the country’s trade deficit, analysts said. Agricultural products account for about a third of exports and contribute billions of dollars a year to export earnings. Forecasts call for below-average rainfall in most major agricultural areas for the next three months.
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