ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: With wheat stocks of around eight million tons, Pakistan is expected to allow export of around 3 million tons of surplus commodity here on Saturday.

Official sources told Dawn that Pakistan was comfortable to meet around 150-day of its wheat requirement after maintaining the strategic reserves in view of hostile atmosphere in the region.

These sources said that the country had wheat availability of over 23 million tons during the current season against local consumption of slightly over 20 million tons while Rabi season was about to start.

Besides this, it has carryover stocks of around 4 million tons putting the total availability of around 8 million tons. Pakistan had a bumper wheat crop last season that entailed sufficient surplus stocks.

A high level meeting to be presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday, would be briefed about the stocks and demand position of almost all the important commodities, including sugar and crude oil, in view of war threats from across the border, official sources said.

Federal secretaries of agriculture, petroleum and natural resources, water and power, planning commission and other relevant provincial authorities would also attend the meeting.

“We are very comfortable as far as stocks situation of essential commodities of wheat and sugar is concerned while oil supplies have also been adequately lined up as required under the war book,” an official of the finance ministry said.

The official said that separately all the federal secretaries had been directed to go through the war book regularly and update the government.

The meeting is expected to approve a model crude oil purchase agreement that would empower the local refineries and the government to import from various sources and procure locally for the companies the crude oil at uniform terms and conditions.