Papua New Guinea has temporarily removed a ban on imports of selected Australian fruits and vegetables for three months, according to Australian grower group Ausveg.

The group welcomed the move, which will once again allow the export of vegetables to the northern neighbor including potatoes, cabbage, carrots, capsicums, pumpkin, peas, zucchini, eggplant, Chinese cabbage, French beans, lettuce and celery.

"While Papua New Guinea is not the biggest export market for Australian vegetable growers, it was worth (AUD)$3.8 million to the industry in 2014-15 and is an important trading relationship in the region," said Ausveg national manager for export development, Michael Coote.

"The loss of any export market increases pressure on Australian growers due to the difficult conditions in the domestic industry. We hope that common sense prevails in this situation and the ban is reversed permanently following the three-month period."

Australia had been exporting to Papua New Guinea for many years prior to the ban without any difficulty.

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