A Darwin ice-cream theft has created a $45,000 "huge sticky runny mess" after a frozen dessert burglar left the refrigerator door open over the Easter break, police say.

Parts of the Northern Territory may be facing an ice-cream shortage after a supplier's refrigerator was broken into and ice-cream supplies melted while he was on holiday.

The ABC understands the theft happened at PFD Food Services.

Two refrigerated trucks were ransacked at the food distributor's Winnellie base.

The 62-year-old ice-cream supplier returned to find several locks on the trucks broken and a "huge sticky runny mess", Duty Superintendent Louise Jorgensen said.

"It looks like somebody has tried to steal a little bit of ice-cream and in the process jemmied open the doors of the refrigerator trucks," she said.

"They have taken whatever they thought they needed and left the doors open.

"$45,000 worth of ice-cream melted over the trucks and is not useable."

She added a lot of the ice-cream was destined for outlying Indigenous communities.

Northern parts of the NT are nearing the tail-end of the hot and sticky wet season with temperatures typically in the low 30s and humidity above 90 per cent.