Australian beef exports may benefit from reports of a mad-cow disease in the U.S., according to the Australian Beef Association.

The reported case of mad-cow disease in the U.S. may prompt Japan and South Korea to increase its demand from Australia, said the industry group.

"We need to see how this affects the Korean and Japanese markets," David Byard, executive officer of the Australian Beef Association, told Bloomberg.

"It all depends on how the Japanese and the Koreans take this," he added.

An e-mail from Australia's Department of Agriculture sent to Bloomberg said Australia is monitoring the mad-cow reports even as Australia "does not import beef or beef products from cattle of U.S. origin."

Australia's three biggest markets in 2011 were Japan, the U.S. and South Korea. The country down under even overtook Brazil as the biggest beef exporter in 2011, Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, in a report prepared on March 6, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences forecast that Australia's beef and veal exports may increase 1.6 per cent in 2013 due to heavier carcass weights.

The beef and veal exports were valued at $A4.3 billion during fiscal 2011.