Globalization of freshwater brings both risks and opportunities. The largest risk is that the
indirect effects of consumption are externalized to other countries. While water in agriculture
is still priced far below its real cost in most countries, an increasing volume of water is used
for processing export products. The costs associated with water use in the exporting country
are not included in the price of the products consumed in the importing country. Consumers
are generally not aware of and do not pay for the water problems in the overseas countries
where their goods are being produced. According to economic theory, a precondition for
trade to be efficient and fair is that consumers bear the full cost of production and impacts.