Small businesses in Flanders are on the whole less negative than they were three months ago when the last barometer was issued - suggesting that the crisis may have already bottomed out. Nevertheless, one in eight businesses still expects a substantial fall in income.

"Exporting companies are seeing something of a recovery," Van Eetvelt said. "But I fear that, for companies selling on the domestic market, the worst may yet be to come."

Only one in three entrepreneurs sees an opportunity in the crisis, and fewer still - about one in four - would consider new investment or an approach to new markets, the report says. More troubling still is the sudden drop in new start up businesses: just 2,520 in May, or 40% fewer than in May 2008.

The banks are to blame, he said, for stifling investment credit. "We're hearing of people being told not even to put in an application, because they don't stand a chance. That way, the cases don't show up in the bank's reports of credit refused," he said.

The solution, he suggested, is simple. At present the Flemish region will give a start-up loan to anyone who wants to set up in business and has been unemployed for three months. "Why not scrap that condition?" he asked. "That would solve a lot of problems." He also called on the region to extend its credit guarantee system to cover bridging and cash flow loans, which banks have become more reluctant to approve.

He also criticised the so-called jobkorting, a premium paid out by the Flemish government to all workers in an attempt to stimulate consumption. "That money doesn't get to the businesses that need it," Van Eetveld said. "People save it; you see that in the figures from the National Bank. I think that choices have to be made. Our companies are suffering in this crisis, and it's time to invest in the economy," he said.

• The European Union needs to do something urgently to stop multinationals from preying on small businesses and "bleeding them dry to the last drop," Van Eetveld also said. Large companies put pressure on their suppliers to accept price cuts or longer payment delays, according to one in three small businesses. The situation is not restricted to Belgium, making action necessary at a European level.