Indonesia was badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with its exports and tourism-reliant economy taking a massive hit in 2020 as GDP shrunk by 2.07% – its first recession since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

But Southeast Asia’s largest economy has picked up in recent months, and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) today reported an on-year expansion of 5.01% in January-March.

“The high economic growth for the first quarter of 2022 is caused by the recovery of public activities,” head of the bureau Margo Yuwono said during a press conference.

“Public mobility in the first quarter of 2022 has been really good.”

Exports showed an especially impressive growth of 16.22% in the first quarter of 2022 as prices for Indonesia’s palm oil, nickel and tin soared on the global market.

Moody’s Analytics said Indonesia’s first-quarter showing exceeded their forecast.

“The result indicates that Southeast Asia’s largest economy is on track to achieve the government’s full-year growth target of 4.5% to 5.3%,” it said in a note released today.

Indonesia in March had dropped quarantine requirements for all travellers with a negative PCR test.

It has also seen a tripling of foreign tourist arrivals between January to March this year, compared to the same period last year.

The country’s economy expanded 3.69% last year as coronavirus cases started to decline and export prices for key commodities like palm oil, coal and nickel rose significantly.

But while Indonesia – the world’s top palm oil producer accounting for 35% of global trade – has reaped the benefits of the high prices in recent months, in April it suspended exports in the face of domestic shortages.