KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Thursday and is expected to fall further after Indonesia announced that it would lift a ban on exports that had rattled the edible oil industry.

The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 60 ringgit, or 0.98%, to 6,074 ringgit ($1,379.67) a tonne.

Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil exporter, will allow exports to resume starting May 23, following improvements in the domestic cooking oil supply situation.

The decision comes despite bulk cooking oil having not yet receded to the targeted 14,000 rupiah per litre price, as the government considers the welfare of 17 million workers in the palm oil industry, President Joko Widodo said in a video statement.

“Strong production numbers added with tank-busting stocks will again open the floodgates for aggressive export numbers out of Indonesia,” said Paramalingam Supramaniam, director at Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari.