Brazilian Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias has said China has lifted a ban on imports of Brazilian beef which it imposed after a case of suspected mad cow disease was detected in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, Reuters reports.

The Brazilian authorities will resume issuing international health certificates to allow exports of beef to China to resume, the news agency quotes Ms Dias as saying in a tweet.

In a separate report, the Brazilian state-run news agency, Agência Brasil, quotes Ms Dias as saying she intends to keep negotiating with China a new procedure to prevent the imposition of such a ban in similar circumstances, should they occur in future.

Her ministry disclosed that the World Organisation for Animal Health investigated the case in Mato Grosso and found no danger to public health, Agência Brasil says.