Small businesses are missing out on global sales by ignoring overseas customers, despite barriers to reaching consumers falling, says FedEx Express.

Just a quarter of small and medium businesses are internationally active, says a Fedex report, despite a finding that 35 per cent see tapping into new markets as essential to their success in the next 12 months.

Despite evidence showing that businesses trading overseas are more likely to grow than those that do not, 52 per cent of respondents questioned for the report said they needed more help to make the leap.

The government sees export as a cornerstone of UK economic growth and has cut taxes for businesses as well as bolstering support structures for overseas trade.

The result has been the fastest export growth of all EU countries in 2013.

“This survey has picked up on some thought-provoking trends in business behaviour and attitudes," said Trevor Hoyle, vice president, FedEx Express UK & Ireland.

"With three decades of experience in the UK, we've see first-hand how starting to export can have a revitalising impact on a business. Our job at FedEx is to give British businesses global knowledge at the local level in order to seize these opportunities."