Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce says he is leaving foreign policy issues affecting his portfolio to people "smarter" than him.

Mr Joyce made the remarks in an interview with ABC News about warnings that trade sanctions may be imposed on Australia because of the Coalition's decision to change the way it refers to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting for control of the West Bank for decades.

Israeli people prefer their West Bank settlements be referred to as "disputed territories" whereas Palestinians support the term "occupied".

The Coalition recently decided to switch its description of the territories from "occupied" to "disputed".

It is a move that has angered many Arabic and Islamic countries.

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Almost 20 ambassadors and senior diplomats representing nations including Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan protested against the decision yesterday in a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Department in Canberra.

The head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, Izzat Abdulhadi, said some countries might decide to impose trade sanctions over the issue.

"There are a lot of exports of meat to the Arab world and now also we're talking about the wheat," he said.

"I think ... the interests of Australia is to work with the Arab world."

Mr Joyce says he is happy to speak to people wanting to discuss the issue but it is not an area that is his "field of endeavour".

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"As the Minister for Agriculture I just want to make sure that I concentrate on agriculture," he said.

"I will leave all that wondrous stuff on foreign affairs to people on a vastly better pay scale and smarter than I am.

"My job is to make sure we get product moving."

A DFAT spokeswoman says diplomatic officials have agreed to maintain an "open dialogue" on the issue.

Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss has defended his Nationals colleague.

"Barnaby is fully, fully aware of the importance of this trade," Mr Truss said.

The Opposition says the Coalition needs to be more careful with diplomatic issues.