Egypt will resume importing livestock from Australia after nearly a year-long suspension following a circulation of footage showing animal cruelty in Egyptian abattoirs, the prominent Australian newspaper The Australian reported on Thursday.

Citing the Australian agricultural minister Barnaby Joyce, the paper added that the Australian and Egyptian governments had come to an agreement on “all matters” to restart live sheep and cattle exports, including an agreement on oversight and safeguards.

“We will manage this to the best of our ability, but I will never make a promise that problems are never going to arise. It would be foolish to do that,” Joyce was quoted as saying in Canberra.

Joyce added that Australia and Egypt have agreed to implement the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS), which makes Australian exporters responsible for the welfare of Australian livestock up until the point of slaughter.

Under ESCAS, exporters can only send Australian livestock to feedlots and abattoirs that have been approved by the Australian Government, because they've been found to comply with international (OIE) welfare standards.

Many of the animals go to predominantly Muslim countries, where they are slaughtered in accordance with Islamic practices. Exports to Egypt were halted in 2006 but re-started four years later. Exports to Indonesia were halted for several months in 2011, also over cruelty allegations.

Animals rights group, Animals Australia, which has campaigned for an end to the live export trade, said in May 2013 that the footage was shot at two abattoirs approved under a joint agreement that allowed the resumption of live animal exports to Egypt in 2010.

Australia's live export industry is worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the national economy, but has recently been beset by controversy. Local animal rights activists say the trade is cruel and should be banned.

According to Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, live animal exports made up 4.5 percent of total trade between Egypt and Australia, which reached $593 million in 2011/12.