This is also the region with the fastest rate of economic growth, so, in addition to more mouths to feed, there is already a shift in consumption patterns in a segment of the market where personal incomes are rising, putting more pressure on food supply. All of this has important implications for Australia and, in turn, has economic, environmental and social implications for our farmers and our supply chains in what they produce and how they produce it. Metropolitan areas now use up to half the water once available to cultivate food, ground water levels are declining, access to good farm land is becoming more difﬁcult, soil fertility is in decline and there are constraints on opening new areas for cultivation.
positive towards the EU or European Community, for example EU expansion and integration