Heavy rainfall in the past two weeks across much of eastern Australia is likely to boost agricultural production and exports this year.

Exports of agricultural products, including grains and meat, could increase by 10% or even more from an estimated A$30 billion (US$27 billion) this fiscal year as a result of the rain, said Charles Armstrong, the president of New South Wales Farmers' Association.

Large areas of Queensland and New South Wales states have been deluged since Christmas, with rains in many areas of more than 200 millimetres causing widespread flooding.

The rainfall will provide a major psychological boost for farmers in New South Wales, many of whom have suffered three or four successive years of failure of their winter crops as a result of drought, Armstrong said.

The rainfall and the boost it gives to farm production will revitalise country towns that depend on dry land farming, in part by increased demand for farm inputs, including fertilisers and chemicals, he added.