Treasurer Curtis Pitt said the exact financial impact of the extreme weather event on the 2017-18 budget was yet to be determined by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

But he said the effect of Cyclone Debbie was likely to be on a similar scale - in terms of the cost of disaster relief and recovery - as Cyclone Oswald, which came in about $1.5 billion.

When Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements with the Commonwealth were taken into account, the net cost to Queensland could be about $500 million, Mr Pitt told ABC radio.

"The Queensland government is going to have to pay upfront for the financial impact and of course we hope to recoup as much as that as possible through the NDRRA arrangements with the Commonwealth," Mr Pitt said.

"But in the meantime, we're comparing this cyclone to Tropical Cyclone Oswald from the Treasury's perspective and that was an impact of around $1.5 billion on the budget."

Mr Pitt said the budget, due to be handed down on June 13, would contain an estimate of Cyclone Debbie's impact on forecast economic growth "resulting from economic losses estimated at approximately $2 billion".

The Treasurer said he still planned to deliver a surplus in his next budget.

He said the impact would likely be seen over the next two years.

Estimated economic losses will include coal exports, with a net lost tonnage contributing to losses of about $1.5 billion.

The Whitsunday tourism market lost the equivalent of two to three months of activity, with an estimated value of between $120-180 million.

Canegrowers estimated losses of about $150 million and horticulture and crop losses could be about $120 million.

Mr Pitt said the losses were somewhat offset by recovery-related activity, including insurance payouts, work for tradespeople, the personal hardship assistance scheme and the short-term boost to coal prices.

"Of course we'll continue to do many other things in the budget as well, but it is important for people to understand that this Tropical Cyclone Debbie and the aftermath of flooding will come at a significant cost to the Queensland budget," he said.

The Insurance Council of Australia has estimated the insured losses across Queensland and NSW had reached $660 million from 41,105 claims.

It comes after Mr Pitt announced in December that a surge in coal prices had given Queensland a bigger than expected surplus of $2 billion.