Markus Rathsmann has got cattle in his yards at Mt Ringwood Station in the Northern Territory and points out which ones are currently barred from the live export trade to Indonesia.

“See that one there, with what is probably a birthmark? He’d get rejected,” he says with a sigh.

Mr Rathsmann knows of nearby stations that have had 30 to 40 per cent of their cattle rejected from the live export trade this month because of skin blemishes.

He knows a lot of his sale cattle will be rejected too if the trade issue is not resolved soon.

So what’s happening?

In July, Indonesia temporarily suspended imports of Australian cattle from four export facilities in northern Australia, citing concerns of lumpy skin disease (LSD).

Australia does not have LSD, but the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) spent months testing animals across the north to assure Indonesia this was the case.

During this period, as a matter of precaution, government vets began rejecting cattle for export if skin blemishes were found.

Indonesia lifted its trade suspension in September, but the crack down on skin blemishes remained.

“These are requirements of the Indonesian quarantine authority, not the Australian department of agriculture, who in this circumstance is regulating to ensure exports meet the importing country’s requirements,” DAFF said in a statement to ABC Rural.

“DAFF officers are working with Australian live cattle exporters and their representatives to ensure that close attention is being given to cattle that present with skin lesions consistent with clinical signs of infectious or contagious diseases are not included in consignments intended for Indonesia.

“The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry understands how difficult this in for the industry.”

Veterinarian and NT cattle producer Hamish Brett said seeing “fat, healthy, shiny” cattle pulled out of consignments was an issue impacting “massive amounts of cattle”.

Financial loss ‘not sustainable’

NT Cattlemen’s Association (NTCA) chief executive Will Evans said the situation was “not sustainable” for the industry.

“We produce cattle in areas with a lot of insects and they get bitten by insects,” he said.

“As we come into the wet season we’re trying to work with the Australian government and Indonesian government to increase that level of awareness and understanding about the ecosystems where we produce cattle.”

Mr Evans said the association was hoping to see a positive outcome.

“At the moment, where consignments are being checked on property, about 30 per cent of cattle are getting taken out [because of skin blemishes], which is a huge financial loss and it’s a situation we need to see a resolution to,” he said.

Indonesia is Australia’s biggest customer for live cattle and in 2019 before the COVID pandemic, imported nearly 680,000 head.

Mr Rathsmann said DAFF’s use of the word “lesion” was harmful to the industry and not correct, as the definition of a lesion was a structural change “due to injury or disease”.

“These animals getting rejected certainly don’t have disease and they don’t have injuries. It’s clearly not the right word to be using for these cattle,” he said.

Mr Rathsmann said he was aiming to sell cattle off the flood plains in December and the trade to Indonesia was his only viable market.

He wants the situation to be resolved quickly, but is not confident.

“The trouble with commonsense is that it’s not common,” he said.

“I can’t understand the logic behind why this is happening.

“They’re carrying on like we’ve got LSD and we certainly don’t, so at the highest level someone needs to talk to the minister and get this sorted out.”