"After evaluating the external and internal challenges and opportunity, we target 14.5 percent export growth in 2007," said Pangestu.

The minister made the statement at a joint press conference along with Vice President Jusuf Kalla here after a meeting over the export target of the country, which would focus on increasing of the commodities that contributed to 44.8 percent of the total export last year and the export to 15 countries.

She said the commodities included textile products, electronics, shoes, spare part of vehicles, crude palm oil, rubber and its products, furniture, prawn, cocoa and coffee, and some other important commodities, such as coal, tin, pulp, nickel, plywood and alcohol.

Among the 15 countries were China, Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Span, Singapore, India, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines, said Pangestu.

She said last year these countries contributed 77.7 percent to Indonesia's export with value of US$43.7 billion, and this year's target is to increase by 15.9 percent to US$50.7 billion.

On his turn, Vice President Kalla said that it seems that Indonesia could not reach the target of 20 percent growth set by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently.

"But the government is optimistic to reach the 14.5 percent," he said, "as we have sufficient financial support from banking."

Minister Pangestu said that the challenges to export growth this year are the predicted slowdown of the global market which would drop to 7.9 percent from 8.9 percent last year, the decrease of the primary commodity in the global market due to the decline of the global economic growth and the rise of stock in the world market.

Besides, the continuation of the negative campaign and the widening of the requirement for some Indonesian export products such as crude palm oil, coffee, prawn, shoes, furniture, also hampered the rise of export, she said.

The unfavorable condition of infrastructure in the country, such as road and port, was still a serious problem for the increasing of the export and import of raw material, which can cause high economic cost, said Pangestu.

The decrease of the investment in 2006 will also have poor affect on the capability to increase export this year.