*Orders down 41.8 pct in Q1
*Firms face credit restrictions
ZURICH, May 26 (Reuters) - Swiss manufacturers said on Tuesday orders slumped 41.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, dragging revenues down, and said a recovery was not to be expected until 2010.
Swissmem, the Swiss association for the manufacturing industry, said foreign orders tumbled 43.6 percent from a year earlier while orders from within Switzerland were down 34.5 percent in the first three months of 2009.
"We expect a recovery in 2010 at the earliest," Swissmem said in a press release on Tuesday.
The association also said that companies were facing liquidity problems due to credit restrictions.
"For many exporting companies, especially small and medium-sized firms, accessing the credit market has become more complicated," said Swissmem, which called on the banks not to apply unduly tough credit conditions on firms.
(Reporting by Lisa Jucca; Editing by Victoria Main)