AUSTRALIA'S fresh exports to one of its biggest agricultural trading partners are about to be crippled.

Indonesian capital Jakarta consumes 98 per cent of Australia's fresh produce exports to the country - but from March 14 its port will not accept any fresh produce.

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Produce will need to go through the port at Tanjung Perak, 700km to the east.

And from there it will travel unrefrigerated for at least 12 hours on trucks to get to customers.

The ban is being implemented by the Indonesian Government, which is citing food safety concerns. But there has been speculation Indonesian officials remain divided over the ban.

Australian Horticultural Exporters Association chief executive Maxwell Summers said the move would "close the market for us".

"It won't be worth doing," Mr Summers said. "If you were shipping onions or potatoes, maybe."

Mr Summers expected half the produce would be inedible by the time it reached Jakarta.

Indonesia accounted for 38 per cent of Australia's fresh grape exports, 30 per cent of our mandarin exports and 22 per cent of our orange exports in 2010.

The Weekly Times understands a Tasmanian exporter expects to lose 75 per cent of his business.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson said he was "deeply concerned" and had raised the issue with Indonesia "on numerous occasions".

"I most recently discussed it with my counterpart, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 28 this year, and followed up with a letter on February 6," Dr Emerson said.

Indonesia has not yet notified the World Trade Organisation of its intentions regarding the port ban.

Australia has continued to request Indonesia notify the WTO "so that trading partners can provide comments through formal WTO processes", Dr Emerson said.

Coalition agriculture parliamentary secretary Richard Colbeck said given Australian produce often took three weeks to arrive in Jakarta by boat, "the decision time is now".

"Even if we get an extension, that helps to start with," Senator Colbeck said.