Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan has confirmed that the dispute with Australia over spying allegations has accelerated his country's desire to source beef from other countries.

Mr Gita also said all communications between the two countries over broader bilateral trade issues had ceased. For the moment, Australian and Indonesian officials are only talking to each other in multilateral forums such as the World Trade Organisation.

Australia, which is free of foot-and-mouth disease, has been almost the exclusive supplier of beef to the Indonesian market. The live cattle trade alone is worth $174 million.