I would then like to discuss why it is that, despite these uncertainties, the medium-term global environment facing the Australian farming sector is quite favourable. And then finally, I would like to briefly touch on current conditions in the farming sector in Australia. Global uncertainties It is clearly a difficult time for the world economy.
No specific program encompassed and coordinated initiatives to enhance flexibility, but there was a growing recognition, both in the United States and among many of our trading partners, that a market economy could best withstand and recover from shocks when provided maximum flexibility. Developments that enhanced flexibility ranged far beyond regulatory or statutory change.