Managers at a business support service say they have been inundated with companies coming to them for help with the complexities of Brexit.
Management at the Leicester and Leicestershire Growth Hub say companies are still getting bogged down in red tape as they try and cope with new levels of bureaucracy that came in at the start of the year.
And they say bigger companies, as well as SMEs, are finding it tough.
New figures suggest 海角视频 trade with the EU bounced back in February after a record slump following its exit from the trading bloc on January 1.
However, February鈥檚 exports to the EU were still 11 per cent below the same month last year 鈥 a sign of continued border friction.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that exports to the EU rose by 拢3.7 billion 鈥 or 46.6 per cent 鈥 following a 拢5.7 billion decline in January, driven by machinery, transport equipment and chemicals.
Imports from the EU have been less resilient, and remain more than 拢5 billion down.
Many deliveries restarted after pausing for a month to get to grips with the new border arrangements, while the launch of the third 海角视频 lockdown had also affected January trade.
Hilary Benn MP, co-convenor of the new 海角视频 Trade and Business Commission, said: 鈥淭hese figures show a recovery in trade with the EU compared to the previous month, but exports to the Continent still remain well below the levels seen last year.
鈥淢ore analysis is now needed to distinguish between the short-term impact of the coronavirus and the longer-term challenges posed by the end of the transition period.
鈥淲e know many smaller businesses are struggling to adapt to the end of the transition period as they face extra costs and bureaucracy.
鈥淭he Government should respond to the concerns of the businesses and communities affected and work to improve the current EU-海角视频 agreement.鈥
Bosses at the growth hub, which is part of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership, said it was still dealing with the ripple effect of the 海角视频鈥檚 departure from Europe 鈥 including problems with getting products into and out of Ireland.
Export specialist Andrea Collins who is delivering information sessions on behalf of the hub, said: 鈥淭he rules around Product Origin are proving very difficult for businesses to understand and creating a barrier.
鈥淰AT is also causing issues and, combined with inflated shipping costs has forced many e-commerce retailers to stop shipping because the margins are not there right now.
鈥淯nusually for the Growth Hub, we鈥檝e had several larger companies attending our sessions, some of them confident they鈥檝e prepared well. Within a short space of time, we have been able to uncover significant vulnerabilities, that if left unaddressed, could have impacted them considerably.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all still grappling with the new systems and we don鈥檛 know what we don鈥檛 know, so having a specialist cast an eye over things makes sense.
Growth Hub manager Jon Egley said: 鈥淚f Europe has made up a significant part of your business, it is worth weathering the storm particularly for B2B goods.
鈥淎ndrea and her team know the mechanisms that can be used to make things easier in terms of VAT, duty and documentation. We have asked them to give Leicester鈥檚 businesses all the support they need through the one-to-one sessions we鈥檙e funding throughout April and May.鈥
Ms Collins said: 鈥淚 believe very strongly that it鈥檚 worth persevering with Europe 鈥 it鈥檚 such a large market for us, geographically and culturally very close. It鈥檚 never going to be the same as it was, but it will become in the next 18 months to two years, just a different way of trading with the EU.鈥
