Report from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showed the trade balance suffered a deficit of $864.2 million in January due to a $1.18 billion deficit in the oil and gas sector, despite a $320 million surplus in the non-oil sector.

Down by 7.16 percent from the previous month, total exports stood at $13.41 billion.

Total imports were valued at $14.28 billion, a decline of 1.6 percent from December and 4.78 percent from January last year.

China remains Indonesia's biggest non-oil export destination in January, accounting for 16.69 percent of the total, followed by the US (12.84 percent) and Japan (8.88 percent).

"Overall, total exports to China fell by 12.07 percent," BPS head Suhariyanto said.