UPDATE 1-Exporters struggle to get trade loans - WTO's Lamy

* WTO chief says global market for trade finance still tense

* Exporter lending costs stabilise in Brazil, India, China

* Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe "need support"

(Adds findings from WTO/OECD report, new paras 12-17)

By Laura MacInnis

GENEVA, July 2 (Reuters) - Exporters are struggling to get the loans they need to ship their goods, the head of the World Trade Organisation said ahead of a high-level meeting on ways to bolster commercial flows from poor countries.

"Anecdotal evidence shows that the global market situation remains tense, with increased payment defaults and high costs of credit," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a report on protectionism whose main findings were made public on Thursday.

Interventions from the Brazilian, Indian and Chinese central banks and governments have stabilised trade finance costs that shot up during the credit crunch, Lamy said, estimating their local spreads are now 150-200 basis points above policy rates.

"In other areas of the world the situation has not improved," he said in the report, which will inform discussion at a July 6-7 WTO meeting involving the heads of major regional lenders and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.