Malaysia lifts live cattle ban after LSD fears eased

The temporary suspension was put in place in August, following Indonesia reporting Australian cattle had tested positive for the contagious disease.

Although Malaysia is a very small market for Australian beef, it was feared its temporary suspension could create a domino effect and spook larger customers such as Vietnam and China.

Australia tested more than 1000 cattle over a two-week period, all of which returned a negative LSD result.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt welcomed the announcement as an important first step in the full restoration of the trade.

"We have always maintained that Australia is free of Lumpy Skin Disease, demonstrated by the results of extensive testing undertaken across Northern Australia," Senator Watt said.

"We will continue to take a calm and considered approach to our response on this issue."

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry acting deputy secretary Nicola Hinder said the government had been advised Malaysian authorities would commence granting import permits to industry immediately.

"We thank our government partners in Malaysia for their continuous cooperation... we continue to learn from each other's experience to ensure best practice and results in trade resumption," Ms Hinder said.

It follows Indonesia announcing more cattle from Australia have tested positive to LSD. Australia has sent a delegation over to Indonesia, in an effort to find the disparity between the testing regimes of the two countries.

Indonesian quarantine authorities have not suspended exports from the three facilities, but have requested all cattle from them undergo three tests - blood, nasal and mouth swabs - before boarding ships.

The industry has warned testing cattle pre-departure could see exports grind to a halt, pointing out it took the Australian government two weeks to test 1000 cattle, and there are 4000 to 6000 on every ship.