Shipments from China rose 15.9% from a year earlier, down from a 17.9% growth in September and 24.5% in August.
Meanwhile, imports grew 28.7%, resulting in a trade surplus of $17bn (£10.7bn)
The data has raised fresh concerns about the impact of a global slowdown on China’s export-led growth.
“Export growth continued to drop last month against the backdrop of a sputtering economy in European countries, which is the largest export destination of our country,” said Wang Hu of Guotai Securities in Shanghai.
Import growth is a bit higher than we expected, showing that domestic demand is still resilient”
“Import growth is a bit higher than we expected, showing that domestic demand is still resilient,” said Mr Wang.
However, some analysts said the jump in import numbers was not a true indicator of domestic demand.
They said that manufacturers were taking advantage of a drop in commodity prices to build up stock levels and that was impacting the import numbers.