China's export growth saw a sharp decline in July taking it to a six-month low, customs data showed Friday, boosting expectations that the government may speed up fine-tuning to bolster the economy.

Exports rose just 1 percent year-on-year to $176.9 billion in July, down from 11.3-percent growth seen in June and well below market expectations of between 7 and 8 percent, the General Administration of Customs said Friday.

A breakdown by region showed that exports to the EU, its largest trading partner, dipped 16.2 percent and export growth to the US was at a sluggish 0.6 percent from a year earlier.

"The recovery of the US economy continues to slow, impacting on China's exports. Furthermore, rising export costs in China's developed coastal areas have forced some labor-intensive industries to move out, causing business in traditional export-dependent areas to plunge," Wang Yuwen, a researcher with the Bank of Communications, told the Global Times.

Wang added that it is not likely that this month's figures will buck this trend.