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The Ministry of Trade has raised its target for non-oil-and-gas exports this year, with Deputy Trade Minister Mahendra Siregar saying on Tuesday that he is optimistic they will grow by 7 percent to 8.5 percent.

“The target we’ve set up is in coherence with the visible economic recovery, which increases demand from other countries,” Mahendra said.

In early January, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said she expected 2010 non-oil-and-gas exports to grow by 6 percent to 7.5 percent this year.

Muchtar, the head of the ministry’s research and development agency, noted that the new target would mean lifting the target for overall exports.

“When the trade minister set the non-oil-and-gas export target at 6 to 7.5 percent growth, the overall export growth target was set at 5.1 percent, so with the increased target, the overall export target would be boosted as well,” Muchtar said.

PT Bank Internasional Indonesia chief economist Juniman said non-oil-and-gas exports accounted for more than 80 percent of total exports in 2009.

Juniman said the total export target for 2010 could increase by 0.4 percent to 5.5 percent as a result of the higher target for non-oil-and-gas exports.

However, he said the target for non-oil-and-gas exports would only be achieved if the country stopped relying on its traditional export markets such as the United States, Japan and Europe. The government should try to develop new markets in the Middle East and Africa, he said.

In 2009, Indonesia’s non-oil-and-gas exports totaled $97.5 billion, a 9.7 percent decline from 2008. The figure was better than most forecasts, however. Earlier in 2009, it was widely predicted that exports would plunge by 10 percent to 15 percent as a result of the global downturn.

Boosting the 2009 figure was a global rally in commodity prices that saw the country record its highest-ever monthly export figure of $13.3 billion in December.

Total exports, including the oil and gas sector, stood at $116.5 billion for the year.

Meanwhile, 2009 imports totaled $96.8 billion, a 25 percent decrease from 2008.