* Australia wheat prices fall below offers from U.S., Canada
* Asia buyers looking for mid-protein Australian prime wheat
By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Australian wheat is making a comeback in Asia, with buyers in the region locking in supplies for early 2016, as prices have dropped below that of cargoes from the United States and Canada.
Asian buyers, including Indonesia - the region's biggest importer of the grain, have signed deals to take Australian wheat right up to February and are now in the market negotiating deals for March delivery, traders said on Monday.
"Australia is one of cheapest origins right now, we have seen buyers switch back to Australian wheat," said a manager at an international trading company in Singapore. "If you look at the value it is even cheaper than Black Sea cargoes."
Australian wheat producers had been losing market share in Asia as rivals from Black Sea took advantage of a bumper crop and lower transport costs to undercut prices.
Australian prime wheat with 10.5 percent protein is currently quoted at about $240 a tonne, including cost and freight to Asia, compared with similar variety U.S. soft white wheat that is being offered at around $280 a tonne.
Chicago wheat Wv1 last week jumped to its highest in almost three weeks.
"Mills are seeking mid-protein, around 10.5 to 11 percent, type of wheat which is being dominated by Australia," a second Singapore trader said. "Buyers are very well covered for supplies of high protein wheat for the first quarter of 2016."
Australia, the world's No.4 wheat exporter, is forecast to sell about 17-18 million tonnes of wheat from a crop of 23.98 million tonnes million tonnes in the year to June 2016.
The country sold a record 24.66 million tonnes of wheat in 2011/12, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Australia's wheat harvest is likely to be 80 percent complete by the end of this month, traders estimated.
"We are back in flavour but the demand pace is much slower than last year," said a Sydney-based agricultural commodities analyst. "We have sold half of what we had sold by this time of last year."
Australia wheat exports have taken a hit also because the country's ports have been busy shipping large volumes of chick peas to India, said one trader in Sydney.
"A lot of our port capacity was taken up by chick pea shipments in November and similar is the story for December," he said. "There is strong demand from India."