Wellington - New Zealand will protest to Indonesia about a sudden and "completely unwarranted" ban on its beef exports, Trade Minister Phil Goff said on Friday.

Goff said Indonesia had banned imports of New Zealand beef on Monday, saying its labelling did not comply with requirements for halal products because its beef carried stick-on labels instead of consumer information printed on the packaging.

But Goff told Radio New Zealand, "We think it has less to do with food safety and halal issues and has more to do with the Indonesian domestic political and business environments."

He said it was a serious issue for New Zealand because the beef trade was worth nearly 100 million New Zealand dollars (about 76 million US dollars) a year and Indonesia was the country's seventh biggest export market.

Goff said he will tell Indonesian officials in scheduled trade talks next week that a ban imposed without notice or good reason was unacceptable and damaging to trade relations. (dpa)