A Reuters poll had forecast growth for both exports and imports, following a long period in which both shrank on an annual basis.
The bureau said Indonesia exported $12.68 billion of products in October, up 4.60 percent from a year ago, versus the 4.29 percent growth expected in the poll. October's pace of growth was the strongest since August 2014.
Imports were $11.47 billion, up for the first time in 25 months, by 3.27 percent, and also the strongest since August 2014. The poll had forecast an increase of 4.90 percent.
October's trade surplus was $1.21 billion, slightly smaller than September's revised $1.27 billion.
Low commodity prices have hurt Indonesia's export earnings for years, in turn affecting everything from company profits, government revenue and people's purchasing power.
Suhariyanto, the head of the statistics bureau, said the recent rise in prices of some of Indonesia's main commodities helped exports to recover.