Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce will visit the Middle East to try to restart live sheep exports to two countries in the region.
Australia has not exported sheep to Bahrain since it rejected 20,000 for having scabby mouth in 2012. Their eventual cull in Pakistan provoked outrage among animal welfare activists.
A boycott imposed 30 years ago has prevented exports to Iran.
The West Australian on Monday reported that the government has been in talks with both countries to resume exports, with Iran said to want 1.3 million sheep a year and Bahrain up to 400,000.
"I'd be very disappointed if we hadn't made a breakthrough before the end of the financial year," Mr Joyce told the newspaper.
The minister acknowledged resuming live sheep exports to both Iran and Bahrain would upset animal rights activists.
"I must be going all right because every day I open my inbox and there are hundreds of people who hate my guts, predominately animal activists," he said.
