* Miller bought 100,000 T for shipment in July at $197/T -sources
* Marks Asia's first new-crop Black Sea wheat deal
* Black Sea posing stiff competition to Australian wheat exporters
By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) - An Indonesian flour miller has signed a deal to buy Black Sea wheat to be delivered in July, two trade sources said, marking the region's first sale to Asia from its next crop.
Competition to supply Asia's rapidly growing appetite for wheat has intensified in recent years, with exporters from the Black Sea muscling in on trade that has been dominated by countries including Australia.
The deal for 100,000 tonnes of wheat with 11.5 percent protein was signed at $197 a tonne, including cost and freight, the two sources said. They did not name the buyer and asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media.
That price compares with similar variety of Australian wheat being offered at $218 a tonne.
"Australian wheat exporters have had record exports in January and February, but it is going to be tough when Black Sea shipments arrive from July onwards," said one of the sources, a Singapore-based grains trader, on the sidelines of an industry event.
Wheat exports from Russia, Ukraine and other northern hemisphere suppliers start in July. Indonesia has emerged as the world's No.2 wheat importer in recent years.
Australian grain exports likely surged to an all-time monthly high of more than 4 million tonnes last month, smashing the previous record by a third on strong demand from Saudi Arabia, China and India and lower prices amid a bumper crop. Sea quality has improved a lot in the last five years," said Joyce Gan, general manager of commodity procurement at the Interflour Group, one of Southeast Asia's biggest wheat millers.
"The quality and price spread between Black Sea and Australia has narrowed quite a bit."