Feb 10, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. The New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®) will briefly delay the launch of its pulp futures and options contracts in order to complete the necessary warehouse certification process. The futures contract was scheduled to start trading Friday, February 11, and the options Monday, February 14. The Exchange will announce the new contract start dates as soon as possible. Pulp is derived from natural plant materials and is used to make a wide range of products such as paper and paperboard, representing an $86 billion dollar industry. Canada, the U.S., and the Nordic countries are the largest producers of pulp. The NYBOT contract is for 20 air-dry metric tons of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp, which must be a commercially accepted "prime" grade of a specific moisture, dirt count and brightness. Pulp futures contracts, priced in U.S. dollars, will be listed for February, April, June, August, October and December months, with April 2005 the first contract to be listed.