SYDNEY, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has produced a substantial economic impact, reducing Australia's quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.25 percentage points, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Monday.

Alfred's immediate impact on the GDP reached up to 1.2 billion Australian dollars (756 million U.S. dollars), with about 12 million work hours lost due to temporary business closures, Chalmers told a press conference in Brisbane.

Chalmers also cautioned that the disaster could put upward pressure on inflation, affecting the prices of fruit and vegetables, depending on the extent of damage to farmland, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The clean-up costs from Alfred's devastation will add significant pressure to the federal budget, to be announced on March 25, which will include Treasury's latest assessment of the economic impact of the ex-cyclone, Chalmers said.

To support affected communities, the government will allocate 1.2 billion Australian dollars in the budget for recovery payments and rebuilding efforts, said the treasurer.

Alfred caused widespread power outages and floods in Australia's states of Queensland and New South Wales earlier this month.

Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister said disaster recovery payments will soon be available to residents in flood-affected areas in the two states.

These one-off payments will provide 1,000 Australian dollars per eligible adult and 400 Australian dollars per child to help impacted households recover, McAllister said. (1 Australian dollar equals 0.63 U.S. dollars) Enditem

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